The Path I Must Take
by MistyHart44
Summary: Hiccup thinks his life is in order, he's rid of Viggo and engaged to Astrid. He and the other riders can finally enjoy life at Dragon's Edge. But, when his father unexpectedly visits, then drags him back to Berk to discuss the future, Hiccup is forced to think about his life. Will he come to terms with the future fate and his father have chosen? Takes place between RTTE S4 & S5.
1. Chpt 1- Actions and Consequences

**I want to thank my lovely Beta reader SapphiresAndPineapples, who helped make this story so much better!**

 **I own nothing.**

 **000**

 **Actions and Consequences**

Hiccup opened his eyes to find Astrid, in his bed, limbs strewn over his body, important clothes still intact. The important clothes being anything that, had it been missing, would have put them in the uncompromising point of no return.

This was the third night she'd spent in his bed since they started their relationship. It all seemed so perfect. Hiccup's boyish mind thought about this for so long, wanted it, burned for it, and now they slept side by side, moving closer to things conceived in his teenage imagination.

However, reality had drawbacks. First, a month had passed and he only succeeded in removing her armor, skirt, and boots. The leggings and shirt stayed on and his hands banned from traveling beneath their boundaries. Second, he realized he needed more bed, because sharing this little one gave him arm cramps, neck cramps, leg cramps, and even his missing left leg felt uncomfortable.

He looked down at her sleeping face, which laid against his bare chest, as he ran his hand over her clothed back. Astrid made a little grunting noise, her faintly sweaty cheek sticking to him, as she lifted it to meet his emerald eyes.

"Good morning, m'lady," he whispered, stroking loose strands of hair from her face.

She smiled as he moved down to kiss her, sliding finger up her back and around her head. As their kissing intensified, he pushed himself into her, forcing her to her back and sliding over her.

"Werf roing tof all off ruh bed," she mumbled into his mouth.

He pulled his mouth back, while staying on top, "What? Does anything you say make any sense?"

"I said, 'we're going to fall off the bed.'"

"Probably," he smiled down at her. "Move your bed over here."

"To your place?"

"Here _is_ my place."

"What's the point of me having a 'my place' if all my things are at 'your place'?" She sat up, combing her fingers through her loose golden hair.

"I didn't say all your things, just your bed."

"Move your bed to my place." She said.

"Toothless can't sleep at your place. He likes it here."

The black dragon, who had been sleeping on the other side of the room lifted his head and smiled at them with the mention of his name. Hiccup waved a hand at him, signaling the dragon should return to sleep. Finding nothing interesting about their conversation, he nestled his head under his wing.

"You know that's another thing- does he have to be here all the time? I love him too and all, but Stormfly and the other dragons sleep in the stables."

The conversation started to head nowhere good, so Hiccup resumed kissing her mouth, slowly moving his lips down to her neck.

"You could make this bed bigger," she suggested.

"Fine," he mumbled, then lifted his head for air. "But, only if you start taking off more clothes."

"More clothes," she said flirtatiously. "What do you have planned for this larger bed, Hiccup Haddock?"

"Oh, let me tell you-"

A loud thunk on his deck, like the landing of a gigantic dragon, interrupted his thought.

Astrid jerked her head towards the door. "What's that? Do you think the twins-"

"No," he looked worried, "Far worse. Put on your skirt and armor."

There were more thuds outside.

"Oh gods, where's my shirt?" Hiccup asked while putting on his leg.

"HICCCCUUUPPP!" A voice bellowed outside the door before pounding on it.

"Your dad?" Astrid mouthed.

"Hide!" he mouthed back as she ducked behind the bed.

"Dad!" He yelled. "I'm just getting up and dressed."

"It's almost noon!" Stoick burst through the door.

Hiccup almost fell down the ladder from his loft as he scrambled to put his boot on and get downstairs at the same time.

"Where's your Tunic?" Stoick asked.

"I-I have to do laundry."

Stoick shook his head as he looked around the room. "Son, you're not doing a great job of taking care of yourself – no clean clothes? And this place is a mess." Stoick walked to one of Hiccup's work benches.

Hiccup's heart stopped as his father picked up Astrid's shoulder armor. The night before they started making out on that table and knocked everything over. And that wasn't the only place they bumped into things. The place looked like a herd of Terrible Terrors came through.

"This doesn't look like your armor. It's very feminine."

"Oh yeah, well, Astrid, got a dent. I was trying to bang it out for her?" Hiccup smiled at his own inappropriate pun.

"Why did that sound like a question?"

"Did it?"

"Son, I know you've been keeping things from me." Stoick's face became, you got it – Stoic.

Hiccup ran his hand through his hair, he was on the verge of hyperventilating. "Oh gods, well, dad-"

"I know Hiccup, about a certain blonde - who is interested in you."

"You know?" Hiccup breathed a little easier.

"I came as soon as I got the letter."

"Letter?"

Stoick handed hiccup a piece of paper, he read it, rubbing the back of his neck to calm his nerves. Could he have a heart attack at his age if he kept reaching this level of stress? He sat down.

"So?"

Hiccup needed to buy time to think, "Meet me at the club house. I need a moment to find a clean tunic. Then we can talk. Also, you must be hungry. There's probably food."

Stoick left and Hiccup started a vigorous search for his missing shirt. Astrid crept behind him, snaking her arms around his chest. He took her hands, wrapping them in his own and giving them little kisses.

"I have to go."

"What's wrong?" she relaxed her face against his warm back.

"My dad had a letter from Mala."

"Queen of the Defenders of the Wing?"

"A proposal letter."

She peeled away from him.

He sighed, "She was told she would meet her future husband in battle and I helped her people, showing bravery and intelligence. She wants Stoick to arrange a marriage – between her and I."

"Isn't she getting sort of desperate? Snotlout and now you? Not to mention, you didn't do those trials."

"Her letter explained that she has a duty to produce an heir, she's getting older, and my recent heroic acts - defeating Vigo saving her dragons - are enough to get me out of the trials."

Astrid started putting on her missing clothes.

He turned around, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Astrid, I'm with you. I'm going to let me dad know about us today and I'll fix this."

"You'd better. I don't want to have to cut you in half with my ax."

"Neither do I," He laughed.

 **000**

"This is exciting Hiccup, your first proposal." Stoick in his parental excitement voice.

"First, how many should I be getting?" Hiccup sat opposite his dad at the table.

"This food is terrible," Stoick made a face as he took a bite of the mystery meat he found on a plate - probably something Ruffnut prepared, before running out to cause trouble.

"Yeah, none of us can cook. But, dad, I can't accept this proposal-"

"Proposal?!" Snotlout barged in, also looking for lunch.

"Snotlout!" Stoick opened his arms to greet his nephew "Hiccup received a proposal from Queen Mala."

Hiccup slapped his forehead, "Um, dad can we talk about this more, before you tell everyone-"

"Mala?!" Snotlout threw his arms up. "I know you want to be like me, Hiccup, but chasing after the women I let go. Just sad."

"Women? What are you talking about?" Stoick demanded.

"Oh, you know, Mala was engaged to me. Till I broke it off."

Hiccup started to correct him, "That's not entirely how it hap-"

"Not to mention, Astrid, who everyone knows has been into me, for like, ever, has spent the last month sleeping at his place."

Un-phased by and unaware of the situation he created, Snotlout plopped down on a seat, "I feel bad for you being the runner up, Hiccup – Thawfest, the ladies, dragon racing…but, I suppose it's nice to see the girls moving on. Say do they know about each other?"

Hiccup could see his father's fist tighten and could almost hear his teeth grind as his cheeks turned a few shades redder.

"Snotlout, I think you should go." Hiccup warned.

"But I haven't had lun-"

"Leave now." Stoick said it a voice way too quiet and controlled to mean anything good.

Snotlout looked at Hiccup's terrified face, finally reading the situation, "Oh, your dad didn't know about Astrid. Wow, this is soooo awkward, and you're going to be in soooo much trouble. Also, probably with Mala when she finds out. Wow, losing anther fiancé, that's so bad for her. Or maybe you could marry her and date Astrid, I mean they do live on two different-"

"Snotlout!" Stoick pointed at the door and Snotlout finally took the hint.

Hiccup watched him go, knowing he and the twins would camp outside to listen to the chief lose it.

He took a deep breath, "OK, dad. Go ahead. Let it go."

 **000**

Snotlout stopped Tuffnut before he could enter the club house, "Don't go in there. Stoick just found Astrid's been sleeping at Hiccup's, and by his reaction, he had no idea."

"OH!" Tuffnut started to leap around like Loki himself, "He's going to be in soooo much trouble. Do you think he'll get the talk? Oh gods, I hope he gets the talk. Oh, this is going to be so uncomfortable for him."

"Shhhhh- it's starting." Snotlout moved his ear to a crack in the wall.

Tuffnut mentioned, "You know for Vikings, we don't do a very good job of insulating our buildings. What with the cold and all, you'd think we'd perfect that, but no-"

His ramblings were interrupted by Stoick's booming voice, "Of all the irresponsible, poorly conceived actions! I didn't let you come out here to fool around like - like this!"

Hiccup responded calmly and too quietly for them to hear. They figured he knew of their eavesdropping and wouldn't give them the show they wanted.

More yelling seeped out the cracks, they caught phrases like "babies out of wedlock", "shame to the Hofferson family", and "fights because of an illegitimate heir".

Hiccups calm answers made Stoick more irate, but less audible.

"Are you guys having fun without me?" Ruffnut walked up. "Wait, I saw Skullcrusher, I think I hear Stoick yelling, and Hiccup is not here – Did Stoick find out?"

"I might have let it slip." Snotlout Gloated.

"Hmmm, kind of evil. I like that."

"Do you now? Because currently I'm on the market," Snotlout winked.

"Ugh, maybe not." She pushed him over, putting her ear to the wall.

There was a loud boom as Stoick pounded the table.

Hiccup's voice raised, "It's not like that! I was going to tell you before Snotlout opened his big mouth, and it hasn't been a month. It's been maybe twice. She fell asleep there after we were just talking."

"It starts with 'just talking'." Stoick yelled.

Hiccup lowered his voice again, making the conversation less interesting.

Astrid and Fishlegs approached the group.

"You guys have better things to do," Astrid chided. "Besides you know what he's going to say."

"Oh, yeah – what's he going to say?" Ruffnut mocked.

Astrid rolled her eyes as "because I'm your father and I know these things" seeped out from the cracks and into the calm air of the Edge.

"That. He's going to say that. Then tell Hiccup to be responsible. And we need to sleep in our own beds. Then Hiccup will say," She changed her voice to mimic Hiccup's, "OK, Dad. But I'm old enough to live on my own and make my own decisions. Thanks for the input."

Everyone started to laugh.

"I can hear you out there, Astrid!" Stoicks's voice boomed louder.

Everyone scattered, including Astrid.

 **000**

An hour later Astrid and the group returned to find the club house empty.

"Do you think Stoick killed him?" Tuffnut asked.

"Don't be so dramatic," Astrid replied.

"Oh, alas poor Hiccup, I will remember thee fondly. We shall all mourn your loss." Tuffnut put a hand over his heart.

Astrid rolled her eyes as Tuffnut whispered to everyone, "She's in denial. We should give her space."

Astrid stomped off to Hiccup's hut. There she found a note:

 _With dad. Back in a few days._

 **Thank you so very much for taking the time to read. Please leave a review and follow or fav to let me know what you think. I'm always happy to get some sort of feedback.**

 **For anyone who is reading my other story, this is sort of a prequal, but both stories stand on their own. You can always get more information my writing if you go to my bio.**

 **Please note** – **this is a Hiccstrid story. I ship nothing else. The Mala thing is just there as a catalyst for other story lines.**


	2. Chapter 2 - Berk Homecoming

**I own nothing.**

 **Berk Homecoming**

Night had risen and the glow from the fires of Berk coaxed them home. A light dust of early winter snow had settled like a thin sheet over the village and made it shimmer like the pale moon hanging above.

The pair of dragons landed at the bottom of the steps rising to great hall.

"You know if we landed at the top, we wouldn't have to walk up all those stairs," Stoick commented.

Hiccup gave him a strange look, "If we didn't live on the side of an inhospitable mountain, we'd never have to walk up anything."

"We're not moving the entire village - I'm not having that conversation again."

Hiccup muttered something about Viking stubbornness as they started their ascent.

As Hiccup and Toothless trotted up the familiar stone steps, he noticed his dad trailing behind, a catch in his knee slowing his pace.

"Are you OK?"

"Old battle injury acting up."

Hiccup matched his father's sluggish speed. As they went higher, he heard the old man's breathing became labored, like a panting gronkle.

At the top, Stoick stopped and sat on the ledge, wiping the light sweat from his brow. "Sometimes at the end of the day I get worn out and can't do the stairs like I used to. Need to catch my breath. Can't let everyone see me like this."

Hiccup swallowed – he didn't want to see his father like this. Something about seeing the strongest person he ever knew get old made him uncomfortable. A ineffable fear tugged at his mind, and he pushed it away, but being here, in this familiar place, made him know it would try to re-surface.

Stoick arose and gestured to the door. "I bet you've missed this food."

"I really have."

As they entered, the warm familiar smell of a large cooked meal filled their noses. Most of Berk's vegetables were tough and tasteless, but when paired with fresh seafood and bread, they made ones senses feel full, even if their stomach felt empty.

They got their food - Hiccup taking twice what he usually took.

"Trying to grow as large as the chief?" Olaf the Cook, teased.

Stoick gave him a warning look, but Olaf just laughed, "You like my food too much to do anything about my quips. And, the boy _is_ looking thin."

Hiccup sincerely told him, "Olaf, we all miss your cooking. Even Fishlegs is thinner."

"Where are the other riders? Where's Astrid?" Olaf looked around.

"Hiccup will be spending some time with us for the next few days."Stoick said slapping Hiccup on the back.

"Ah." Olaf replied in a knowing way, which prompted Hiccup to give his dad a suspicious glance.

During dinner, the chief made it a point to stop and talk with every single citizen at the Hall, causing the meal to stretch long into the night. Even worse, he forced Hiccup into conversations. Not that Hiccup didn't like talking to people, especially people he had known his whole life, but he wanted to crawl into bed and sleep after a long day of arguing and flying. And it seemed every man wanted to clap him on the shoulder, every woman wanted to give him a smothering hug, and every child wanted to stare at him with star struck awe. (Except for Gustave, who high fived him and asked if Astrid mentioned him recently. Hiccup fought to urge to say "I'm sure she's thinking of you when _we make out_.")

Not to mention, every Hooligan wanted to ask him the same questions: what he was up to? What it was like at Dragon's Edge? Why was he back? What was the weather like over there? How is everyone else? Where is Astrid? Why do you look thinner? Then, there was the endless list of dragon problems they wanted to discuss.

However, Hiccup found comfort in knowing people cared. Most seemed genuinely interested in talking to him, some of the men and bolder women even shared their stories of adventure and teenage antics, giving him the sense that his tales helped them vicariously relive their youth.

Once Olaf closed up the kitchen, and the great fires in the hearth fell to red ash, Stoick looked around and realized they were the last people in the hall. It was then, he finally he gave the signal to head home.

 **000**

 **Home Sweet Home**

"Get another fire going, son. It'll be a cold night, especially since you're not used to sleeping alone-"

"Ha-ha funny. Now that it's just us, you want to bring that up again. Great…"

Stoick collapsed into a chair while his son arranged firewood in the hearth for Toothless to light. The dragon complied and his boy removed his saddle before heading toward his loft.

"And where do you think you're going?" His father asked, but it sounded like an order more than a question.

"To bed, so I can get up and argue more tomorrow."

Stoick laughed. "No, son. I'm going to meet up with someone. While I'm out, you will write a letter to Queen Mala, politely declining her marriage proposal. But, make it from me and I'll sign it."

"Isn't that sort of a lie if I write it and you sign it?"

"I don't write anything, I only review and dictate." Stoick gave him a look to end the conversation and Hiccup responded by grunting as he plopped down at the table. Stoick handed him a quill, some ink, and paper before leaving.

Hiccup took the items and, in handwriting that best mimicked what he had thought was his father's, he wrote:

 _Dear Mala,_

 _My son, Hiccup is currently in a committed relationship with someone else. Thank you for your interest. I hope all is well with you._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Chief Stoick Haddock the Vast_

Content with the letter, Hiccup went upstairs, collapsed into bed and fell asleep to sweet thoughts of recent nights spent with Astrid.

 **000**

 **Re-Write**

Stoick's booming voice reverberated from downstairs all the way to the rafters of his son's loft, shocking the boy from a pleasant dream.

"Hiccup! Come here."

Toothless lifted his head from his sleep, but since his name wasn't Hiccup, he plotted it back down and rolled unto his back.

"Where's the support?" Hiccup mumbled, but he figure taking his dragon downstairs with him wasn't going to intimidate _his_ father.

Hiccup stumbled to the lower floor to find his dad holding the letter.

"Hiccup, is this really what you think I'd send to another leader? Do you think I would use such ill-conceived words?"

"Probably? Maybe? You would if it was – what 2 am?"

"We're in the North. In the winter. It's always dark. I don't care what time it is." Stoick crumbled the letter. He handed Hiccup a new parchment. "Write this down."

Hiccup grunted, but dipped the quill in the ink.

"My dearest Queen Mala…"

"Is she really that dear to you?"

"Write," Stoick ordered, then continued. "Our family is truly honored by your interest in my son, he is indeed a fine, brave leader, a man who would proudly stand by the side of a courageous, beautiful queen like you. As such, Berk needs him, just as the Defenders of the Wing need you. I would like to emphasize the alliance my son has forged with your great kingdom is extremely important to us and we hope to continue on that path as we have, but sadly I do not feel a marriage would propel our people forward, but rather split the attentions of two worthy leaders. Please do not see this as a slight, if our kingdoms were closer in proximity, this would be a match worthy of the gods. However, Hiccup and I would be honored if you allowed us a visit to sign a peace treaty between our tribes to continue our valued alliance. Please, inform us of a date this would work for you. Sincerely, Stoick Haddock."

Hiccup completed the letter, "We didn't mention Astrid?"

"No, you can tell her about Astrid when we go to sign the peace treaty. If you say it is because of Astrid-"

"She'll feel slighted, but if I say it's best for our people-"

"We'll appeal to her sense of duty."

"Do we really have to go see her? I might want to avoid her for a few years, you know avoid any awkward sexual tension she might have."

"And clearly it's hard for you to keep all that raw Viking contained." Stoick rolled his eyes, "Yes, in diplomatic matters such as these, one should always follow up in person – sooner the better. That's when you'll casually mention your intentions for Astrid."

Hiccup sat at the table and they stared at each other for a few moments and once again it seemed uncomfortable, like the old days.

"So…" Stoick broke the silence. "What are your intentions with Astrid?"

Hiccup squirmed in his seat. "Do we have to talk about this now? I don't know, holding hands and no more than kissing."

Stoick sighed. "And what are your intentions for the future? I want to retire someday, you know. It's the reason I had a son."

"Oh, so my winning personality and companionship for the past 19 years, has meant nothing to you?"

"I'm being serious. I gave you time to go out and explore and have fun, but now you must start thinking about coming home and starting your future here."

Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck and stood up. "Can we talk about this tomorrow? This is not a middle of the night conversation."

"Alright." His father relented. "Get some rest. You have to be up early tomorrow."

"For what?"

The old chief smirked, giving Hiccup a feeling of ill ease. "I've arranged a special meeting for us to spend time with someone."

 **000**

 **Early Morning**

Even Toothless wanted to sleep beyond the ungodly hour at which Stoick dragged Hiccup out of bed.

"Not used to sleeping alone, eh son?"

Hiccup rubbed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Get your thicker coat, we're going hunting."

Hiccup put his coat on then stumbled to his groncle iron shield, which doubled as a cross-bow.

"Leave that, we're using long bows today."

"But Gobber always says if you have just one weapon - take a shield."

"Not for this hunt. You'll impress our hunting companion more if you take the long bow and a regular sword."

Hiccup grumbled and reached for the long bows and some arrows that hung on the wall. Long bows could be loaded faster, were lighter, and could go further, but they took more strength to pull and were only used by highly skilled Vikings like –

 _Oh crap!_ Hiccup though. "Dad, who's going with us?"

 **000**

 **Who is going with them – can't wait to find out! It's an OC, but I think you'll like him – I tried to make him a little like Hiccup;)**

 **Thanks to all those who reviewed, followed, and faved. Feel free to let me know if you have any comments or questions. I'm happy to answer them.**

 **And don't worry about Mala, I'll work that back into a cute side story. And Stoick is in good health, just slowing down with old age. And he's still spry for an old guy – Just thought I should say that because I had some reviewers freak out about from another story when I had every intention of working things out... And in case people were going to freak out, things will work out here. Oh well, I hope someone likes this….**


	3. Chapter 3 - Hunting as one of them

**I own nothing.**

 **Note: There is a scene with hunting animals, but no graphic violence. You have been warned.**

 **The Hunt**

The best hunter in the village and the best archer, of course, happened to be Leif Hofferson, father of Astrid Hofferson.

And that cold early morning Stoick invited Leif to go on a little hunting expedition. Just the three of them. No dragons and only basic weapons – longbows, arrows, swords, and knives.

Over time Hiccup outgrew his clumsiness and became more coordinated. Physically he grew stronger than the other Vikings his age, furthermore, he was decent with a sword and his lanky frame gave him the ability to move quickly. Having Toothless with him at all times meant he never bothered with archery, sure he used his crossbow when needed, but that was rare, especially since he didn't hunt more than dragon hunters these days.

The sky started to turn a silvery gray when the Haddocks knocked on the Hofferson's door. The door opened with a scrape and Leif Hofferson had to yank it to get it open all the way.

"Good morning," he greeted.

"Might need to get the door fixed, Leif. If it keeps sticking like that the wood'll start to crack."

"Been meaning too, but my backs been bothering me. Getting old is hard, ain't it, Stoick?" Leif said as he limped back into the house.

"It is indeed."

Mr. Hofferson, was a medium built man, who stood about an inch shorter than Hiccup and had blond hair and a neat goatee. Hiccup only interacted with the man when forced to, but he actually like him very much and noticed they shared a similar sense of humor (probably why Astrid tolerated him), but he found himself unable to relax and think straight in the older man's presence.

Upon entering the house Hiccup noticed an array of hunting knives set out on the table.

"Alright, son," Mr. Hofferson addressed Hiccup, "pick out a few knives for us."

Hiccup went over to examine them. Mr. Hofferson clearly took good care of his knives, each one was polished and the handles were clean. They must have been to him what axes were to Astrid. Picking the right ones reminded Hiccup of a feast he and Stock once attended at another village - their chief had a thing for exotic foods. When they sat down there must have been 40 different utensils. Stoick made Hiccup take a bite of the food first, using the excuse his son needed to bulk up, but really, he didn't know what to do either and was willing to let the boy, who was green in diplomatic matters, suffer the embarrassment. Hiccup wondered if this was a similar situation.

"Some of these are dull," Hiccup commented picking up large knife with a jagged edge. "I'll just take the sharpest ones."

"Or you'll take the right ones and sharpen them," Stoick suggested.

"Or I could do that…" Hiccup mumbled.

"He has not idea which ones to take?" Mr. Hofferson suggested.

"Not a clue," Stoick laughed.

"Why don't you show me, dad," Hiccup suggested.

"I'm chief, I have people know these things for me."

"Well I'm going to be-"

"Nope, if you become chief, then you can forget."

Hiccup glared at his dad, knowing the _"if"_ was thrown in to keep him from being cocky.

Mr. Hofferson limped to the table and explain the function and style of each knife. Hiccup knew about crafting knives and their care, and had a general idea of function, but not to Mr. Hofferson's level. Fortunately, he knew enough so what the man said made sense and might even help Hiccup on future projects.

After the explanation, Hiccup picked out a few knives and Leif packed the sharp ones.

As Mr. Hofferson checked the rest of their gear, Hiccup wandered by a charcoal drawing hanging on the kitchen wall in a wooden frame. "Nice picture."

"Thanks, not sure where Mrs. Hofferson got it. It showed up one day. Astrid made the frame, which I remember because she's not crafty with decorative things, but she did a good job on that one. We've lost the house a few times and had to re-build, but that picture somehow always survives."

Hiccup continued to admire the drawing, the charcoal had started to fade and the paper yellowed, but overall it held up well.

"Take these," Hiccup turned around to find Astrid's father pointing the dull knives at him, his cold blue eyes meeting his.

"Whoa…I-"

"Whet these at Gobber's. The chief and I will meet you there."

Stoick smirked at him.

"Ok," Hiccup took the knives, carful to retrieve them by the handles and not the blades. The old men seemed to be messing with him. In any case, he felt relieved for the opportunity to be alone for a few moments.

 **000**

 **When We Were Young**

As Hiccup entered the smithy, the sharp smell of iron and the stiff smell of ashes coupled with the stillness of the morning created a nostalgic swell in his gut. Gobber's dragon, Grump, snored next to the cold forge, un-phased by an intruder. Hiccup turned on one of the lanterns, which he designed - it contained monstrous nightmare gel, while a little side button released a spark from a flint to set the gel on fire, casting a yellow glow in the room.

He went to work sharpening the knives, and as he did, his mind started to wander back to almost a decade ago. Maybe he was 8 or even 9. He remembered it as one of the coldest nights Berk ever had.

That night his father made him pack some clothes and night items before they trekked through four feet of snow and ripping winds to get to Hofferson's house.

Hiccup recalled that when they finally made it, Elie Hofferson sat inside at her little table, while other men and women from the village gathered in the small common area. Mrs. Hofferson's face was wet from tears and Stoick held her as soon as he got there, trying to calm her down as she shook from hysteria.

While the men, including Astrid's Uncle Finn, gathered their storm gear, Stoick pulled Hiccup aside.

"It'll be hard for you, son, but we have to leave and find our missing people. As chief, I have to do this and I might not come back. If that happens, you'll have to be brave and one day you'll take my place and be willing to do the same things."

Hiccup eyes started to fill with tears as a defeated "No" slipped from his lips.

Stoick warned, "Do not cry. Mr. Hofferson and some men went hunting for the village. That is their job. They went because we all have jobs and those jobs help the village. Tonight your job is to watch his wife and daughters. You will be brave for the Hofferson family and for Berk."

"What if Dragons attack?"

"They don't attack when it's this cold, and if they did, you'd fight them."

Hiccup held onto his father's large hand as long as he could, but he push his worries aside. This was an important job, it made him one of the men. Part of his people, he had responsibilities that trumped his sorrows and fears.

After the men departed a few women lingered to make sure the Hofferson women had plenty of firewood and put a small amount of food on the stove. But, soon they left too. Leaving Hiccup alone with the three females.

Astrid's sister, Ingrid, sat with her mother, arms wrapped around the distraught woman like a scarf.

"Are we going to eat, mommy?" Ingrid finally asked.

Without words Elie put her aside and retrieved the pot of warm soup, left by the other women.

Ingrid put out four bowls and spoons, but Elie returned her own to the cupboard while she retrieved some bread.

Elie divided out the soup, giving Hiccup the most, then placing the small piece of bread before him.

Astrid protested, "Why does he get more?"

"Hold your tongue. He's the only son of the chief and a growing boy."

"I don't want anyone to be hungry, Mrs. Hofferson. They can have some of mine." Hiccup said.

Without any tone in her voice Elie Hofferson said, "It doesn't matter - village supplies are low. The whole village will starve this year. That's why Mr. Hofferson -" she started to choke on her last words, but stopped herself. She got up to tend to the fire, keeping her back to the children.

While she looked away, Hiccup tore off some of his bread and gave it to the sisters. He also dropped one of his potatoes in each girl's soup, making all the food even.

Elie turned around, preventing them from thanking him, but he could see the appreciation in their eyes. But, he didn't want thanks. He wanted things to be fair for them. With dragon raids and harsh winters, Berk lost many of its children. Hiccup hated being an only child to his father, and he would hate even more to be the only child in the village. He also hated the idea of being chief, the thought of all that responsibility his father had to endure gave him crushing anxiety. And it made him different. He didn't want to be different, and he especially didn't want the pretty Hofferson girls to see him that way.

After dinner, Astrid sat in the corner sanding the handle of a small wooden ax, the sound of the paper swishing filling the room. Hiccup took some paper and a charcoal pencil from his bag.

He laid the paper out on the wooden floor and started to sketch a flying dragon on the soft paper. Ingrid came over to watch his busy tool glide and flick over the paper.

"Draw my mommy a flower," she whispered.

Hiccup remembered becoming nervous when she talked to him. Everyone who had eyes saw the Hofferson family, were the most attractive people in the village, by far - especially Ingrid and Astrid. If they had flaws Hiccup was blind to them.

"Could I draw something else? I've never drawn flowers and I don't want to do them wrong. I draw dragons, the village, people, sometimes weapons…"

"Please," Ingrid had big grey-aqua eyes that Hiccup couldn't help but obey.

He started drawing little oleanders, then some buttercups, then others, until they grew into a vast field with high reaching mountains cut by cascading waterfalls that slipped into a serene lake. The warm months were short in Berk, so blooming flowers were something special, when they started to bloom the village women always told the children to take the seeds and scatter them where they'd grow. Some believed if there were enough flowers around, the gods would give more days of summer.

As he completed the last twirling primroses, the swooshing of the sandpaper stopped and he looked up to see Astrid peering at his work.

In the light of the fire she had a golden glow, like a Valkyrie forged in the sun. He wished she would say something, anything - even if it was something awful like she hated fields of flowers and mountains and stupid water. But when their eyes met she looked away, suddenly even more interested in smoothing the wood of the toy ax.

"This is so amazing!" Ingrid gushed. She took the paper over to her mother, who sat in the dark corner behind the kitchen table.

Elie Hofferson looked up from her wet handkerchief, her eyes slowly moving over the picture. She gave an approving smile -the liveliest movement Hiccup had seen from her all night.

The sandpaper's noise ceased again, Hiccup noticed Astrid intently watching her mother. He thought maybe a smile crossed her lips mimicking her mom's.

Astrid looked over at Hiccup, "Do you want to play Vikings and Dragons?"

Of course he did. V & D was every Hooligan child's favorite game. It was hide and go seek tag, and he played it all the time, but never alone with the Hofferson girls.

The trio played for the next hour, Ingrid only mildly interested, but Astrid played intensely, not just tagging Hiccup, but fully tackling him - painfully throwing him down and pinning him to the ground. The places where she struck him left a lasting touch on his skin that he somehow longed for. She was so fierce he couldn't really fight back, nor did he want to – partially afraid to hurt her, partially intrigued by the tingle he felt in his chest each time she got close. Years later, it would make his future-self wonder if he had a slight love for pain and dangerous things.

While the children screamed and played, Elie Hofferson sat in the corner, looking at them but not watching them. That is until Astrid knocked Hiccup over, wooden ax waving above her head, knees crushed into his chest, yelling, "I'm the fiercest Viking who ever lived. Haha! Dragon, I have you, I'm going to cut your heart and take it to my father. And you will die! You'll be dead!"

"Stop it, Astrid!" Elie snapped. "You don't know what it means when someone is dead."

Astrid dropped her ax, rising off Hiccup, allowing the air to return to his crushed lungs. He saw her face fall, but no tears fell.

Elie shook like a boiling kettle, but quietly said, "I think it is time for you children to go to bed."

She busied herself by getting them ready, making them change into night clothes and brush their teeth. She then set up a pile of furs for them to sleep on in front of the fireplace. She explained the night was so cold they'd have to sleep together in front of the fire their body heat might be the only thing keeping them alive that night.

Elie laid on the outside edge, then Ingrid, Hiccup, and Astrid on the other edge.

Hiccup remembered falling asleep instantly, but waking up in the middle of the night to the sound of muffled sobs. He thought it Elie at first, but realized it was Astrid.

Her cries made his own heart hurt. He didn't know what to do. He asked himself what Stoick would do. He'd seen his father touch people's shoulders when they cried. Especially women. When women cried Stoick touched both their shoulders and they either pulled it together or pulled in in for a hug. They might hurt more for a bit, but they always recovered.

In the orange glow of the dying fire, he could see that she faced away from him and had moved to the edge of the furs. Tentatively he reached out for her shoulder. Beneath his hand he could feel the bones under her skin - she'd grown so thin that winter, everyone had. She stopped crying and rolled over to him, allowing him to hold her and run his fingers through her golden hair - hair he secretly always wanted to pet. She felt cold and small in his arms- almost lifeless after all that winter had taken from them.

"My father is dead and my mother hates me." Astrid whispered between choked sobs.

Hiccup thought about what his dad did in these situations - stay positive, "You know that's not true. Your father is fine. Half the village men wouldn't have gone after him if he wasn't. And your mother is just mad. No one could ever hate you."

He figured it must have worked, even though Astrid's said nothing, her crying slowed to steady breaths as she warmed and fell asleep curled in his arms.

He thought about all the times he touched her after that, often imagining each touch could lead to more, but not that night, not the way he held her then. That moment stayed in his mind how it was.

He had to keep it that way, because back then he was young and his feelings innocent and his placement around her innocent. That night as she slept next to him, her gentle pulse beating beneath her skin and against his. Something inside his soul awakened – he realized that he had to become better. He wanted to be better. Most of all, he wanted to be the man his father was, the man his father wanted him to be. He wasn't competitive, it was for another reason – for this. So she'd return to him like this again. Astrid was strong and a fighter and he had to be that for her. He had to be strong like iron on the outside, but had to keep his heart soft inside.

In the early hours of the morning Stoick and the rest of the men returned. A few of Berk's hunters perished in the sudden snowstorm, but not Leif Hofferson, he only lost half his left foot, giving him a lifelong limp. He returned to his family, carried home on Stoick's back all the way to the village from the deep woods, where they found the survivors in a tiny cave.

Hiccup recalled the look of relief on everyone's face when they were reunited and the long heartfelt embrace the family shared and how it filled him with a sense of pride to know his father was able to save those men.

"Did you finish with those knives, son?" Leif's head popped in the window, startling Hiccup from his memories.

"Yes, sir." Hiccup packed the knives and walked out of the smithy into the cold Berk air. This time he headed into Berk's forest with the men. And as one of the men.

 **000**

 **In the Woods**

"So I see you're good at tracking, son. How about with the long bow?"

Hiccup feared his archery skills might come up. "When tracking dragons and fighting dragon hunters, we don't really use long bows. But I know how to use one."

Mr. Hofferson laughed, "Astrid says the same thing. Also, says an ax is deadlier, so she'll just carry three of those if she goes hunting."

"Do you take your daughters hunting much?" Hiccup tried to make small talk, not about himself.

"Could you ever see a frilly girl like Ingrid hunting? And as for Astrid, you spend more time with her than I do, so I'd hope you'd know. I mean if you don't know these things, what do you talk about all the time? Dragons?"

"You know, Mr. Hofferson, training dragons is not the only thing I think about."

Mr. Hofferson looked back at Stoick, "Are you seriously saying that to me with a straight face? You know I was a boy in my teens once. I can imagine the thing you might think about, but not sure I want to."

Hiccup swallowed hard recalling how many weapons Mr. Hofferson had on him, while hoping his father would keep the hunter from killing his only son. If Mr. Hofferson had been any other man from the village, Hiccup would have smoothed out the situation. Thought of something funny. Talked about the twin's antics. Casually brought up how annoying Jorgensons were (Jorgensons annoyed Hoffersons).

Damn it, Hiccup took down Vigo Grimborn and faced off with plenty of Dragon Hunters, and even managed to convert Dagur the Deranged to a good man and dragon rider. And Mr. Hofferson had an easy going way about him - how did the man make Hiccup more nervous than all those things combined? It wasn't like he was the Monstrous Nightmare of fathers!

Hiccup took a deep breath, he needed to get through this hunt and then he could go back to casual interactions with Mr. Hofferson only when Astrid was around. "Astrid and I spend time talking about tactics, running the edge, manage job assignment. I'm working on outsourcing the basic training to the others now."

"Hiccup, if you're assigning all your tasks out, maybe Astrid should run Dragon's Edge, and you can come back here to do my job." Stoick looked at his son with – yep, stoic-ness.

Hiccup fidgeted.

"That is unless you and Astrid would miss each other too much…"

Leif Hofferson looked back at the boy with amusement.

"Last time I went hunting, I don't remember there being this much talking." Hiccup quipped.

Mr. Hofferson laughed, "The boy's right, Stoick, maybe if you didn't talk so much and listened more I wouldn't have to do all the hunting when we go out."

"And maybe if you listened, dad, I wouldn't have had to rescue Toothless, fight the red death, and lose a leg." Hiccup added. Finally, someone else called his dad out on his ability to drone on endlessly without hearing others.

"I think, that time I lost half my foot to frostbite, someone told him a storm was coming, but he didn't listen."

"Dad, a foot, a leg – any other limbs sacrificed to your endless talking and inability to listen?"

"I think he's the one who told Gobber to go after that dragon who took his leg," Mr. Hofferson added, "and Gobber said he didn't want to go, but Stoick didn't listen, just gave the order."

"Dad, do you have something against other people's appendages?"

"Do you know how Bucket and Mulch lost their hands?" Leif asked Hiccup.

"I don't, but I bet my dad's endless yammering was involved-"

"Enough." Stoick grunted. "Or I'll be removing your next limbs myself."

Leif and Hiccup exchanged grins and the group became quiet as they walked through the forest.

Hiccup took this time to enjoy the forest, recalling the days he and Toothless glided over the canopy of evergreen trees. He realized it had been a long time since he spent time on the grounds of these forest, enjoying the scent of Berk's pines and cold air. Yes, the cold and damp felt miserable and stabbed at the lungs, but they made one feel alive, and gave the warmth of anything good deeper meaning.

Rising through the trees, he could see the white-gold rays of the sun rising and casting a silvery fire to the stray piles of snow. Ahead, they heard a brook running through the woods. They knew there must be a male boar in the area based on the smells left from its territory marking and places where its rubbing had damaged the trees, leaving the naked layers beneath the bark exposed to the elements. Based on the smell, height, and tree damage they figured it to be a larger male."

Leif turned, and whispered, "It is early in the boar's mating season. We hunt them now for a few reasons. One, thin out the male population - this will lead to less fighting, you don't want them to fight or they'll die slowly and painfully and you can't eat sick injured animals. You want to eat them when they are fit and healthy, they'll be at that peak now. Two, too much competition for resources and if they overpopulate it messes with the natural rhythm of the forest – they'll eat too much, destroy the trees, and eat food the other animals need. Finally, taking out lesser males leaves better stock for the future, so get a good one, but go for one who is not too old or too young. Also try to leave females- it'll keep the population higher. One male boar can handle many females, unlike humans."

"I knew most of that, especially the last part."

"You better, son." My Hofferson grinned and knowingly slapped Hiccup's shoulder.

Hiccup felt the anxiety rolling back.

Leif limped up to a cliff, 30 feet above the brook below.

He held his hand out to test the wind. "Here's a good spot. The wind carries our sent away, we've got a clear shot of the brook where he'll come. Also, the angle of the peek will muffle any noise we make. And, important for you, the ground looks comfortable," Leif took and old fur out of his pack and handed it to Hiccup. "Plus, there's a log over there where your dad and I can sit and drink."

Hiccup looked at them as his dad took out a flask, probably of something lightly alcoholic. "Just signal me when you see something." Leif called as they walked over to the log a few feet away.

Hiccup put the fur down and situating himself on his belly, so he could see the water below. Hiccup lay there for a while trying to fight sleep while his father and Mr. Hofferson whispered behind him, every now and then their hushed wipers broken by a laugh or clearing of the throat.

Time seemed different on Berk – slower, like life at Dragon's edge forged ahead like a longboat in the wind, while Berk moved like one sailing in mud. It created a serene sense of nostalgia that felt comforting and stable. Like it would never change, like the words in a book. It could be revisited over and over and still invoke the same emotions at the same poignant moments.

The smoothness of the steady wind and the rustling of the world around him started to put Hiccup to sleep, lids becoming heavy and body melting into the ground beneath him.

"Hiccup," he startled to hear his father whispering loudly, "come here. Mr. Hofferson wants to ask you something."

Hiccup sighed, got up, and stumbled over to the other men.

"Do you know how to shoot a long bow?"

Hiccup shrugged, "I have…"

"That doesn't count," Astrid's father got up and brushed himself off. "Let me see your form."

Hiccup pulled out the bow and an arrow, positioning himself as though he were going to shoot it. And Leif circled around him.

"Not bad. Good back posture. Good hand control. Your stance is steady. I can tell you're stronger than you look."

Hiccup wondered at that last part – insult or compliment? He wanted to believe the latter.

"Drop it all and pick it back up," Leif ordered.

Hiccup made a face, but complied.

After he re-positioned himself, Mr. Hofferson circled him again, this time making corrections, "The first time, you set yourself, you drew the arrow back to your jaw, but this time you did it to your eye. That spot you take it to is the anchor point, you have to keep it consistent with each set up and shot."

"Which point is best?"

"You should practice regularly and try different spots to figure out which works for you. Everyone has a natural draw length, which dictates their anchor point, so don't try to draw any further than comfortable. Some people try to get more power by over drawing, but if you keep your draw shorter, you have more control therefore better consistency."

The older man made a few minor adjustments, shifting Hiccup's shoulders and hold. Hiccup flinched when Mr. Hofferson nudged the back of Hiccups with his knee. Even though the gesture was not meant to be invasive, it surprised him and he already felt nervous having the father of the girl he pictured naked for years coming into his personal space and examining him like an animal at market.

If Mr. Hofferson noticed the boy's nervousness, he ignored it, continuing his explanations "Find one spot and concentrate on that. Angle your feet a tad more than your shoulders. Your left foot here, slightly forward of left shoulder. There - now do you feel more stable?"

Hiccup nodded.

"Don't move - you are arranged perfectly."

"I thought you said I should move my anchor point to find the best spot."

"Not now. Now you're not practicing. You're studying to practice."

"Thanks," was all Hiccup could think to say.

"Don't thank me, now – I told you not to move."

Mr. Hofferson sat back down and the two older men went back to talking while Hiccup stood there.

"Where did the boy learn to shoot?"

"Probably, Gobber. I think all the dragon riders learned from Gobber."

"Gobber's a terrible shot! It's a wonder the boy isn't worse…Maybe I need to get out to Dragon's Edge and make sure they're studying properly."

Hiccup flinched – Mr. Hofferson staying at Dragon's Edge? The twins and Snotlout would make his life Hel. And he thought Stoick finding out about Astrid went down badly.

"Stoick! Did you never teach the boy to be still? He keeps twitching—like he has nervous energy."

"Oh, he's always moving. That's why I hardly ever take him hunting. Look at him, being still clearly causes him pain."

Hiccup made a micromovement, prompting Mr. Hofferson to say, "All right, stand for just another minute."

About five minutes passes, as the men joked reminiscing about hunts of their youth and the exaggerated sizes of what they brought home.

Finally, Mr. Hofferson let Hiccup move, warning the boy he would have to stretch or he'd be sore tomorrow.

Astrid's father went on to teach Hiccup little things about getting the arrow to its intended target. Hiccup already had a good understanding of trajectory and wind resistance, something he learned from studying dragons.

Hiccup finally went back to watching the brook. Finally, after when seemed like hours, but really not as long as it felt, the boar Hiccup suspected frequented the area approached the brook. Hiccup motioned for Mr. Hofferson to have a look.

"We both will shoot." Leif told him.

Hiccup nodded and set up alongside Astrid's father. He set himself as he was instructed and waited for the moment the wind stood still. He focused on one point on the boar below.

"Now." Leif commanded. The two released their arrows in unison, both hitting their mark on the boar.

The wounded animal took off. Into the woods.

Hiccup looked at the older man who shrugged, saying, "Well, now you have to chase it. You can't do all that and let it get away."

"Right." Hiccup slid down the side of the creek and jogged after the trail of blood.

 **000**

 **Just so there is no confusion, no one blames Stoick for their loss of limbs, Hiccup and Mr. Hofferson were just messing with him because they know he is grumpy in the mornings.**

 **If you leave a review, feel free to be honest, but not mean.**


	4. Chapter 4 - For Berk

**I own nothing.**

 **Thanks to all those who reviewed.**

 **Regarding the comment about Hiccup and Mala – this is a Hiccstrid story. I ship nothing else. It might seem like it is going elsewhere, but it will not. The Mala thing is just there as a catalyst for other story lines. Also, the issue of sex before marriage will come up. Hiccup is very respectful of Astrid and her family, so he won't do anything to upset that – it will make more sense as the story progresses.**

 **StarInRedHoodie – Hiccup will go back to Astrid, don't you fret. You'll see soon that Stoick is trying hard to push Hiccup and his relationship with Astrid's forward. Hiccups reasoning for reluctance will come up soon if anything it might be because he loves her too much;)**

 **SkyTalon – So happy you found it amusing. I never know if people will get my humor, so that warmed my heart. I hope you like this next part as well.**

 **For those who liked Mr. Hofferson, I hope this next chapter lives up to your standards.**

 **By the way I pictured Astrid's parents looking like Wesley and Buttercup from Princess Bride (as the actors look today of course, not like they did back in the day).**

 **000**

 **For Berk**

Hiccup was relieved that the animal died quickly from the arrow wounds. He hated the idea of killing something up close, it seemed so personal and wrong and he'd have to look it in the eye. This was the way of life for his people. The way they lived for hundreds of years.

Even with the justifications of population control and the natural way of things – it seemed to go against who he was.

What made dragons better than boars? What made Tuffnut's chicken better than the chickens they ate? What made Yakity Yorgenson, Snotlout's pet yak, better than other yaks?

The other men came up behind him. "Good work, son." Mr. Hofferson praised.

"Now how many more to feed the village tonight?" Stoick asked Hiccup.

"I guess this would feed almost 200 people…"

"About 350 people will eat dinner at the hall tonight – we'd have more, but we have 50 folks out at sea for longer fishing excursions and trade missions on. And on any given night about 75 people don't come to the hall for dinner – because they live further out or just want to eat at home."

"So at least another like this."

It was simple math, but some in the village couldn't even count past 10. As a boy, Hiccup's father made him count things and do math problems all the time, often putting him in charge of tracking supply inventories and later using his number skills when working with Gobber to ensure the quality and consistency of the weapons. Hiccup liked numbers, they were constant and always worked out and he had a natural skill with them. And his dad always told him he'd need them to be chief.

"We'll take this one back and cook can start getting it ready." Stoick threw the animal over his shoulder.

"Shouldn't we get another?" Hiccup asked.

"I'll send someone else out. As we tracked this one we got a few spots in mind where we know they'll show eventually."

"But we're here now. Give me a few hours, I can get it."

"On your own? Without Toothless?"

"I can do things without Toothless." Hiccup didn't like the implication he needed the dragon. Sure that would make it easier, but did he have to say it in front of Mr. Hofferson?

"The boy got a taste of the hunt and now he wants more. Can't blame him, Stoick." Mr. Hofferson said.

"Or he wants to be alone to think." Stoick mumbled.

His dad knew him well, but not well enough. Sure, being alone in the woods would give him time to think and allow him to breath and cool his anxiety, but – "It's the right thing to do. We need to feed people. And going back to send someone else out will waste time. I can do this now and be back in two hours, especially since I won't have your old glitchy knee to slow me down."

"Oh, throwing that out because of the Toothless comment, are ya?"

Hiccup gave him a look that said _you know it_.

"You've got three hours. Meet us back at the Hall for lunch." Stoick turned to Leif and the two men headed back.

Hiccup headed down another path, one that look and smelled like it had been freshly traveled by a male boar.

He followed the trail till he heard the grunts and squeals of two boars. Quietly, he snuck ahead. In the clearing he saw an older male facing off with a younger one, who almost matched him in size. The older male had a swath of gray hair sprouting around his face. And his back leg, stood at a strange angle. It must have been broken, then healed wrong. It didn't slow the animal much, but it appear to cause him pain.

Hiccup knew he had to take out one of the animals. Taking them both down, would probably not be possible, he couldn't carry both back, and it would be taking more than Berk needed – that seemed wrong and unnatural. Especially since they still needed to re-populate.

He had to choose one and soon, before one or both got injured. He grabbed his arrow and stood as Mr. Hofferson showed him.

But which to take down? The older male was sizable and its ability to have grown older, meant it probably had good resilience, it would produce large, strong offspring. This younger one might even be one of his progeny, but clearly the older male was aging and this might be his last winter. Plus, with his larger size he could feed more people – the leftover meat could always be dried or saved for the next day.

And the younger boar – smaller, but he could grow. He was bold and healthy looking. But, would he be the better boar to let live? Would he improve the population? Or would he just be weeded out later by a superior male?

Was it stupid that Hiccup was even thinking about this? What would Astrid do? What would his dad do?

He had choose now because their aggressive grunts and bared teeth meant a fight would start soon. His shot line to either one was about the same, so ease of kill wasn't a factor.

"I hope you lived a good life, bud." Hiccup whispered, as he made sure to wait till the breeze had stopped its movement, by feeling the air on his cheeks and watching the movement of the trees overhead.

The moment before he released the arrow, he muttered one more thing, "For Berk."

The older boar squealed and tried to bite at its back, where the arrow struck. The younger one startled, then took off when it saw Hiccup approach from the bushes.

Not going down without a fight, the old boar charged, despite some paralysis starting from the spine shot. Hiccup shot at him three more times, missing once, but hitting him in the chest and hindquarters. The animal continued to run, but his pace slowed. Hiccup drew his sword, stabbing its heart as it approached.

He still didn't have the thrill of the hunt that he heard other men talk about. But he didn't feel he'd done something wrong. He needed to feed his people. And this was the way of nature. The way of his people. Not just his tribe who he belonged to, but the tribe he would have to lead. Being their leader, he supposed he'd always be a part of them but also felt apart from them. It wasn't just that he was smarter and thought differently, he didn't have a violent competitive nature that helped his people survive. But somehow he was still here – he hadn't died yet.

He wondered is Stoick felt this way. They never talk about it. Hiccup didn't want to talk about it, he wanted everything to stay as it was, spending time with Toothless, learning about dragons, having fun with friends at Dragon's Edge, fooling around with Astrid (even if he never got her clothes off, he did want some intimacy).

And what about Astrid, would she have to feel the same as well. She fit in so well, knew who she was and what her place was in the tribe, if she had to lead with him, would that change, and would she resent him for it? Maybe not, she liked being bossy. And she followed him now. Why was he afraid of the change?

Hiccup sighed and started to collect the boar. The younger one had disappeared deep into the woods, maybe not as brave as Hiccup thought, or maybe smart enough to survive. Either way, this one would feed the village tonight.

 **000**

 **The Return**

The long haul from the woods to the great hall with the boar on his back made Hiccup rethink his stamina. Maybe too much dragon riding didn't build the muscles he needed for real life back here on Berk.

He was made more miserable by the animal's coarse hair chafing his neck. Not to mention the blood soaking his clothes and the horrid smell – feces and mud. How did the twins put up with wresting these suckers?

Since he didn't have any free hands, he had to wait outside the doors of the hall till a friendly Berkian walked up and held the door – Troy Fredson – maybe? The man was too bundled up in a heavy winter coat to tell.

Hiccup walked up to the table where his dad sat across from Gobber, and next to Mr. Hofferson, who absently fiddling with one of his hunting knives. The trio all had mugs of mead and appeared to be gossiping.

Hiccup dropped the boar on the oak table with a heavy thud.

"Ya supposed to take that to the kitchen for the butcher." Gobber complained.

"Nice to see you, too," Hiccup plopped in the seat beside him.

"It's not nice to smell ya, I can say that," Gobber added.

Hiccup still panted from exertion, "I had to lug that thing- alone – all the way from the southeast woods. Does no one appreciate what I do?"

"Freya's clearing?" Mr. Hofferson asked.

"Yup."

"I know that boar. He's a good one to take out. I let him one go a few times last season and he might not have made it through this winter. Taking him out will let the younger boars populate, putting more variation in the stock. Sven can tell you what happens when sheep inbreeded too much – closer related animals have more health problems."

"I had to carry the other boar," Stoick pointed out.

"Now tell the boy the truth, Stoick," Gobber turned to Hiccup, "Your dad called his dragon once you were out of earshot – had Skull Crusher carry himself, Leif, and the boar back."

"I never told him he couldn't call Toothless." Stoick took a swig of his drink, "speaking of, I fed him, he's over there being lazy by the fire, if you wondering."

Toothless laid on his back with wings flung out.

"Why don't you have a drink and some lunch with us, son." Mr. Hofferson said.

"After ya get that smelly thing off the table," Gobber grumbled.

The older men went back to their conversation. Hiccup hauled the boar back onto his shoulder with shaky arms. Gods, he'd be sore tomorrow.

 **000**

 **The Question They're All Waiting For**

When Hiccup returned with his food and a mug of ale, his dad and Gobber got up.

"We've got to go over there to talk to Sven," Stoick said.

"Um, you're not eating with us?" Hiccup felt a panic pinch at his insides

"We'll be back."

Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck, "But…"

"I'm sure you and Mr. Hofferson can find something to talk about. Some interest you must share? Some thing you want to ask him?"

Hiccup turned to Astrid's father and asked, "How do you feel about night furies?"

"Really?" Stoick raised an eyebrow, "That's what you want to ask?"

"We've never discussed it before. I can talk about other dragons." His son shrugged.

Stock and Gobber exchanged a look before walking away.

Leif Hofferson looked at Hiccup expectantly. The pair sat there for a little while, Hiccup awkwardly eating and taking long swigs of his drink.

The old hunter played with his knife the entire time they sat there – flipping it, spinning it, using it to clean his nails, and even stabbing it at the oak table.

"Could you put the knife away, Mr. Hofferson?" Hiccup requested, his voice higher pitched than usual.

"This knife?" Astrid's father asked dangling his hunting knife by its handle, "Sorry nervous habit." Behind Mr. Hofferson and three tables back Hiccup could see his father and Gobber talking to Sven. They glanced in their direction occasionally, and seemed to be having more fun as they snickered and pointed, clearly amused by Hiccup's precarious situation.

"So Hiccup, how is my daughter these days?"

"Well, sir, she's doing a great job."

The older man looked at Hiccup with his icy blue eyes. Hiccup wiped the sweat from his brow. How was the hall so hot, with looks that cold?

"You know, your dad and I were talking…maybe I should come out to visit her. I can ride back with you and Toothless. And while I'm there I can see her place. I trust she has adequate shelter."

Hiccup swallowed hard, "Of course. She has a great place - well fortified. Probably the safest hut."

Hiccup now regretted building his place next to Astrid's. He should have put it on the other side of the island. Maybe another island.

Mr. Hofferson went back to admiring the sharpness of his blade. "And I trust she stays at her place. Not at your place?"

Hiccup felt as though the floor collapsed beneath him. He'd faced death and he'd faced wild dragons, but having to sit across from Astrid's father, one of the best hunters in the village, might have been the most terrifying thing he had to face yet. He thought they bonded that morning, did Stoick just tell him after the hunt and now Mr. Hofferson felt betrayed thinking Hiccup had done something scandalous with his youngest daughter? Or was he trying to say " _if you're going to sleep with my daughter, I expect commitment"?_

"What? My place is my place. I hardly even like Toothless being there." The dragon, who must have sensed danger, lifted his head and eyed his friend with a look described as, " _Oh really_?!"

Hiccup almost dropped his fork when he saw his father and Gobber getting up to leave, potentially abandoning him, but the pair walked over his way, making him realize thing might actually be getting worse.

"So Leif," Stoick plopped down next to the other Viking. "Any news? Things we should talk about?"

"Stoick, I've heard nothing we should discuss since you left about 5 minutes ago."

"Nothing?" Gobber added.

"So Hiccup has no news from the Edge that he wanted to share with you? No gossip?"

Everyone looked at Hiccup, who pushed the last of his fish around his plate. He knew what they wanted to hear. And he wanted to say it, but he couldn't. He didn't know why, it was like the air had been sucked from the room and invisible walls blocked escape.

The trio of men he most respected looked at him.

He started fumbling for things to say. Stories to tell. Anything.

He took a sip of his drink and started blurting out the first thing that came to mind, "I had this advisory named Vigo Grimborn, I defeated him. So that's good. Oh, and he took Astrid hostage, but I got her back. So, thought you might like to know, that happened, but she is OK…How is it so hot in here in early winter? Are we using too much wood these days? We should ration that – it's early winter, we gotta make this stuff last."

Leif and Stoick exchanged confused looks.

Leif said, "Thanks for getting her back. Are you going to keep her now? Or did you do that for me? And the temperature thing is just you - it's cold in here."

"That's crazy about the temperature," Hiccup shifted in his seat, then rambled. "Maybe I wore too many clothes today. And I should not have done that because I bet that blood soaked all the way through and it stains. I tend to wear a lot of clothes. All the time. It gets cold on a dragon like Toothless, who flies fast and wind is cold. Like, I always wear long sleeves, but some of the other riders don't, they wear short sleeves and I can't do that, maybe it's because of the higher altitude. It's cold when your dragon flies high and fast –that's my point. Did you ask me a question?"

"I did, but is there a question you want to ask me? Son."

Hiccup wiped his brow, "Have I missed much while I was gone?"

Gobber hid his amused face behind his mug, while Stoick just shrugged.

Leif took a deep breath, "Well, my older daughter, Ingrid, just married a chief from one of the richest Viking tribes. I think he might be a cousin of your's."

The tactics were becoming more direct. Why couldn't Hiccup's mind just let him say what everyone wanted him to say, why couldn't he do the things people wanted him to do? He want to marry Astrid. And wasn't now the time to ask? Was it the right time?

He had to say something. Maybe change the subject. "Did I mention, in defeating Vigo I also tripled Berk's gold." Oh gods – why was he saying this stupid stuff.

"Hiccup, I taught you not to brag." Stoick sat down next to his boy.

Then Stoick tuned to Leif and said, "Leif, did you hear that Hiccup quadrupled Berk's gold by outsmarting a group of dragon hunters."

"Didn't he lose Berks gold as well?" Leif asked

"And that son is why you don't brag. You'd have looked foolish if someone pointed that out."

Gobber's face turned red as he fought back his laughter. But the other two older Vikings seemed to give up.

Finally Leif said, "I have thing to do back home. Hiccup, Mrs. Hofferson is doing laundry today and she can get the blood out of your clothes. She'll come by your house later."

"I couldn't ask her to do that."

"I insist. It's the least we can do since you got everyone dinner for tonight. And let's not forget, increased Berk's gold ten-fold."

"Maybe you can talk to her?" Leif said more to Stoick than Hiccup.

"Hiccup," Stoick commanded, "Are you sure there is nothing you would like to say to Mr. Hofferson. Right now."

Hiccup opened his mouth, but some anxiety in the back of his mind kept telling him to shut it. Finally he forced out the words. "Mr. Hofferson, thank you for everything today. I just want you to know I've always admired and respected you. I can see how Astrid turned out so well. She's really just wonderful and…"

Hiccup looked around at everyone's expectant looks, even Toothless had woken up and appeared to be in suspense.

Hiccup had forced out all he could, "I'd be so honored if you ever did come by Dragon's Edge. And I assure you, I will make sure nothing goes on that would disappoint you."

 **So there are no haters, I want to be clear, Hiccup loves and wants to marry Astrid, he is worried about moving his life forward, NOT about his love for her. Also, once again, no so there is no confusion, the Hofferson family deeply respects Hiccup and the Haddock family, any teasing that happens is purely in good male fun, males like to joke around and any joking they do is purely bromantic.**


	5. Chapter 5 -Hesitations

**As, always, I own nothing.**

 **Thanks to all who reviewed, favored, and followed. Responses to reviews are at the end.**

 **I heard RTTE season 5 is coming at the end of August, so I'm racing to finish this before then.**

 **000**

 **Naptime**

"Hiccup, you spent half the day with Astrid's father and you didn't ask or say anything about your relationship with Astrid." Stoick seemed more amused than annoyed as they left the hall and walked home.

"I know…" Hiccup grumbled. Toothless walked next to him and nudged him with his head. "I wanted to say something. I just couldn't find the words …" Hiccup scratching behind the dragon's ear as his thoughts trailed off. They walked the rest of the way in silence.

At home, Stoick yawned and went to his room to nap. Hiccup's dad never napped? It seemed strange - they woke up early, but Hiccup wasn't tired. He sometimes went for days without sleeping then would recover by sleeping in a few extra hours, a habit he got - from his dad.

While Stoick slept, Hiccup washed off the smell and grime of the hunt then changed into clean clothes. He occupied himself with writing a letter to Astrid, originally, he thought of making it salacious and putting his deep longing for her into words, but with the twins around to intercept, he thought better of it.

After finishing, Hiccup found three Terrors who could arrive by evening. He and Fishlegs discovered terrors can travel faster if they travel in groups, which they figured out when they saw the little dragons flying in V formations like geese. The one in front breaks the wind resistance making the flight easier for the back two, then when the leader tires, they switch, giving them more stamina to go longer and faster. Hiccup used the same logic in his own riding with groups. Another reason why Toothless, the most aerodynamic, flew in front.

After sending the terrors off, he saddled up Toothless for a ride.

 **000**

 **Deadly Hesitations**

"Ready to relive some of our old antics?" Hiccup said as they took off.

Flying around the archipelago, they saw what changed and what stayed the same - a few streams had shifted course and some old trees had fallen, but for the most part it was as they remembered –cold and peaceful. Vibrant evergreens clung to the brown and white earth, moving only to the will of the winds and weight of the forest creatures who created cities in their malleable branches. And the cold blue ocean lapped the cliffs of Berk with frothy white tips.

With the dragon becoming docile the building started to age and settle as they normally would with the passage of time.

The duo spun through the air, sliced between rock formations, and rounded sharp turns. However, Hiccup felt off - for a few moments his heart beat faster than usual, he sensed himself overcompensating on a few twists, and he pulled farther away from the rock formations as they flew by. Toothless must have sensed it because the black dragon slowed down, shifting his wings to break their aerodynamic momentum.

Hiccup pulled him off to a natural bridge. When they first started training together, Toothless would fly under the bridge, while Hiccup would jump off, run over it, and then drop back on when the dragon reached the other side. Back in the day, he knew that move would impressed Astrid. Plus it looked cool. And he did use it a few times in battle. He and Toothless practiced it for hours. Once he perfected it, it boosted his confidence enough to build him into the man he was today. And he played it off, like it just came naturally, but he must have almost broken something about a dozen times.

Toothless looked at him expectantly. He knew this spot.

"Wanna go for old time's sake?"

The dragon nodded.

"Alright," Hiccup guided him off the ledge. He noticed a slight shaking in his body, maybe he overworked himself earlier with the hunt and hauling the boar.

Toothless launched off the rocky land form. The dragon circled around, picking up speed as they approached the bridge. Hiccup stood on the saddle, ready to take the leap, but still felt off. He felt a twitch in his chest, like his heart over compensated for the exertion. He ignored it.

He leapt off the saddle. His foot hit the slippery rocky edge of his landing point - he might have slipped, had his next leg not come up behind to meet the steady grassy surface that gave him traction. He ran forward, but the slight slip slowed him a millisecond behind Toothless, enough that he missed his target.

His prosthetic missed the stirrup by a hair, just enough to throw him off balance. Any other day he might have recovered, but not this time, he slid too much, and fell - plummeting down. Without his flight suit to stop his free fall, he could only call out to Toothless. Normally, the dragon would have instantly synced to his fall, but his momentum forward had slowed him to the dive and the water below was closer than when they practiced their falls.

Hiccup fell faster than the dragon could, plummeting toward the water and rocks below. _I won't survive this fall_ was the final thought in his panicked mind before Toothless intercepted him at the last millisecond, not saving him from the fall, but interrupting his velocity, enough to lessen the hit.

Toothles pulled him from the water and flew to the beach, where Hiccup set up a little fire using the white driftwood from the shoreline. His dragon cuddled next to him, helping him to warm up.

"At least that was refreshing. And I didn't do a great job of cleaning up earlier," he joked.

Toothless groaned and looked away. "Oh you want an apology? – I'm the one who almost," Hiccup heisted, choking on the last word, "died."

He felt that shaky weakness in his body again and his earlier anxiety seeped back.

How often had he almost died recently? Almost gotten his friends killed? He knew the risks, when he went out to Dragon's Edge, he knew he'd be away from the safety and security of Berk. Hel, that's why his dad let him go. He'd faced death so many times, why freak out now?

 **000**

 **Thorston Household**

Stoick knew where they were going. Hiccup had no idea, he just knew his dad wanted him to follow.

"Hiccup, _do_ you want to be chief someday?"

Hiccup looked nervous and took a moment to reply.

The two of them and Toothless walked down the bustling late afternoon streets of Berk. Folks nodded their head to the trio as they passed. Every Hooligan carrying something – wood, food, children, tools, saddles – their items reflecting the constant energy and maintenance needed to keep the village alive.

He answered, "Does someone want to challenge me for the job?"

"I'm not being funny."

"Neither am I. Who else wants it?"

"Spitelout, Snotlout. Astrid. I'm sure if we asked around…"

"We can do that? It's worth thinking about."

Stoick furrowed his brow and looked down at his son.

"I'm being serious. If you think someone wants it more or could do it better, that is best for Berk. I'd be a bad leader if I took a position someone else was more qualified for. Besides, I don't want to get assassinated or deal with mutiny. Better to step aside than get stabbed in the back."

Stoick looked away. The look in his eyes made Hiccup feel disappointed in himself.

"Doesn't mean I don't want it. Just not now," He mumbled.

They continued to the end of the path and stopped outside one of the shabbier houses in town. Old toys lay strewn about the front area and the house needed repairs - painting, shingles replacment, and cracked wood on the sides needed patching.

Hiccup looked around, "For Thor's sake, dad, this place is more of a wreck than usual. Has no one been helping her out?"

"You've been occupying the twins." Stoick said, "and with winter we've all been busy. I can only do so much. The end of the dragon wars has led to less starvation, healthier population, the rest of us living longer, with more children - not just more births, but fewer children pass. That means more work needs to be done, but those of us who are older are slowing, while our younger healthy population is out at Dragon's Edge or farming or taking care of their children. We don't have people to spare and keep up like we did."

"Even with dragons you can't get this done?"

"Keeping a village with a growing population is constant work. It's a good consequence, but solution sometimes bring new problems."

Hiccup surveyed the house, he figured most of it would last through the rest of winter. He would send the twins back in early spring and have them paint. But for now, the walls and roof needed to be fixed. Probably soon, because it was getting colder and the roof might collapse with a heavy snowfall.

What was Gustave up to? And Gobber's new apprentice? (Who was that kid?) He needed to enlist those guys. He supposed he could stay through tomorrow. He might not have a choice anyway, his felt like a hostage till his father decided to bless his departure.

"Stay outside, Toothless," Stoick told the dragon. "There is too much chaos in here for you." The dragon bounced off in the direction of the docks, probably going to sneak a snack from the day's returning fishing boats.

Stoick knocked on the door, which flung open to reveal a woman in her late 30's with blonde hair and a long face.

"Hiccup! Chief Haddock!" Mrs. Thorston pushed her herd of children away from the door allowing the guest to enter. She embraced Hiccup with willowy arms, then pulled away to hold his face in her hands. "I think you've grown more handsome since we last saw you. This is so nice of you to come see me."

The younger Thorston children pulled at Hiccup, bursting with excitement to have visitors.

"Wow! You've all gotten so big." Hiccup exaggerated his enthusiasm as the children clamored for attention. He picked some of them up and tossed them in the air. He answered their questions about dragons and their oldest siblings - then promising Ruff and Tuff would come back to play soon – at Snoggletog for sure.

Mrs. Thorston went to her kitchen table and shoved toys, piles of clothes, and dirty plates into a heap on the floor. She gestured for them to sit, then offered drinks, which they declined.

"I heard you were around and hoped to see you. How are my oldest?" She asked.

Hiccup thought about his words before choosing them, "They really add to Dragon's Edge. I can't imagine things without them."

Mrs. Thorston smiled and started to say something, but before she did, a fight broke out on the other side of the room. She got up and ran to pull children apart, almost getting hit by flailing arms.

Stoick seemed un-phased when Hiccup shot him an alarmed glance. The room was in a constant state of movement, with children chasing each other and laughing. The whole scene made Hiccup, who grew up an only child, anxious.

"Is it always like this?" He asked Mrs. Thorston when she sat.

"Like what?"

"The kids, their all like little versions of the twins."

"Which twins? Your twins - Ruffnut and Tuffnut?"

"Mrs. Thorston, I'm pretty sure I didn't have anything to do with conceiving them, they are your twins."

She laughed and placed a friendly hand on his arm. "I mean you take care of them for me."

"They're practically adults, they take care of themselves."

"Oh, Hiccup, bless you. I know that's not true. Stoick kept an eye on them here, and now you do. It's hard because their father is so busy and I have to watch the other children. Someone needs to keep them in line."

Stoick went easier on the twins than anyone in the village, especially his own son. And everyone in Berk let their antics slide - somewhat because Hooligans had a good sense of humor, some of it because Stoick always made them go back to clean up their messes, but, mostly because of their father's ineptitude as a parent and husband. Mr. Thorston had good qualities – kind, funny, exuberant story teller, and decent ship captain. However, he spent most of his days out in the deep seas, and while home he spent most of his time at the Hall drinking until he stumbled home. He was the nicest, friendliest drunk one could ever encounter, but not a responsible one. It was said, one could always figure out the dates of when he set foot in Berk because 9 months after his visits, Mrs. Thorston birthed another baby, or in some cases two.

"So, where is Astrid?" Mrs. Thorston asked.

"Astrid? Back at Dragon's Edge with everyone else."

Mrs. Thorston looked confused.

"I brought the boy back to spend some time here with me. We actually went hunting for tonight's dinner with Mr. Hofferson."

"Oh," something seemed to click in Mrs. Thorston's head and she reached over to pat Hiccups hand.

A loud scream upstairs and the crashing of furniture caused them to look at the cracked ceiling.

"This is tame, wait till bed time!" Mrs. Thorston smiled.

"This isn't even all of them," Stoick added. "I put the older ones work in the mess hall."

"Yep, I just keep the younger ones at home. The ones under 10."

Although not all of the children were twins, most of them looked the same to Hiccup, he had seen them all before, but never could focused on them. They moved quickly and scattered away when outside, and this might have only been the third time in his life he ever went into the Thorston home. Because the family was so big, the twins built and moved into their own house next door at sixteen. Their house in Berk was now occupied by their younger, oldest siblings.

Stoick and Mrs. Thorston started to gossip about Sven's sheep, a conversation that held no interest to Hiccup, but he nodded, pretending to care. As they spoke he noticed one of the younger girls staring at him. She wore a little blue dress and had a crown of dried flowers on her head.

Hiccup tried to ignore it, but she batted her eyes and every time he glanced at her, she moved closer. The other adults continued their conversation, oblivious to Hiccup's growing uncomfortableness.

Finally the girl stood inches from Hiccup, tapped his leg, and cleared her throat. He wished he knew her name and could address her properly.

"What is it Hilda?" Mrs. Thorston asked.

"I want ask something." She said lifting her little chin. She looked like a frilly mini Ruffnut. She turned to Hiccup and asked, "Prince Hiccup, will you have the honor of marrying me?"

Stoick laughed so hard he almost fell off his chair. Hiccup turned bright red. Gods- coming home was so uncomfortable.

Mrs. Thorston move to shoo Hilda away, but Hiccup leaned down to her, took both her little hands, and spoke, "Wow, I'm very touched. I've gotten so many proposals lately. And this one is probably the most special, but…um…I'm much older. And you're way too good for me… You don't want to marry me - my life is dangerous."

He felt anxiety wrapping around his chest like ropes that bound him when he was kidnapped by bounty hunters, "If you knew how many times I almost died – you'd be afraid, as you should be. And I've got too much going on. I'll never be home. I can't handle a whole village and a wife and kids and dragons and maybe dying or putting you in danger and everything is more than I realized…"

His dad stopped laughing and Mrs. Thorston looked mortified, like she was about to burst. Hiccup felt a pain in his throat as he swallowed. How did he do that? Why did he say that? His words didn't just cut him when he said them. They cut at Mrs. Thorston, making her see the weaknesses in the man she chose so many years ago. Not Hiccups intention - just something his mind let fall out his mouth.

Mrs. Thorston got up and took Hilda's hand and calmly walked her to the other side of the room, she put the girl with her siblings and suggested they all play Vikings and Dragon Hunters. V&DH, it was like V & D, except the hunter were the bad guys instead of dragons. All the while she talked to her children she shook, but stayed calm.

She returned to the table and sat down, not looking at anyone, while declaring, "I have much to do. And you must have other duties…"

Hiccup put his hand on her shoulder, "You know, Mrs. Thorston, you're such a great mom. I know my dad said you were one of the best fighters at one time, but right now Berk needs more children if we're going to stay strong. And I'm sorry I've been away, and with winter the village has been busy, but we should be doing more to help you. I'll personally be here tomorrow to fix your roof and do some repairs outside."

"You'd do that? You must be busy…"

"Mr. Thorston," Hiccup swallowed trying to choose the magical words he needed to fix this, "is out being a sea captain for Berk. He trades, he hunts, and we need him to do that, but it takes him away from his family, so Berk, needs to take care of his family."

"Hiccup, you don't need to say that," She looked at her hands fidgeting in her lap, "I know my husband - he isn't good on dry land. The wide world calls him and he's at home there. And the children are more than he can handle."

"He does love you and the kids you know."

"He loves the sea and adventure more…He could be a captain on a local fishing boat." Tears brimmed from her eyes, "I begged him to take local jobs. Why does he always go on the longer trips?"

Hiccup searched harder for the words to make it right, but how could he find them when he understood. Women who had children became tied to them and tied to the home. Hiccup felt the call that took Mr. Thorston away each time he returned to Berk, that sense of adventure and freedom, which can hold a man and sometimes – kill a man and even kill those he loved.

He understood why his dad brought him here. Sure, he needed to see how the people of Berk needed one another and those who could had to step in and help those who needed. But he needed to see what happened when a man refused to be shackled to responsibilities, and failed to see what he can handle.

Stoick hugged her and reminded her of her husband's special skills on the deep seas. He reminisced about the men he saved and the large hauls of furs and whale meat he brought back. He told how his efforts brought supplies that saved Berk. And he reminded her with the height of winter approaching he would return soon. All this soothe her, giving her the will to pull herself back together.

Stoick suggested Hiccup share some more news of the twins and he told funny stories, making sure his friends sounded helpful. Which they had become. More now than ever.

The stories seemed to cheer her and she started laughing again and even told a few stories about her other children. As she pointed them out, Hiccup started to remember their names and faces. He hoped to get to know them all better. Maybe he would have a long future as their leader.

They finally departed, leaving her in a better mood than when they arrived, with Hiccup again promising to return.

 **In response to one of the guest posts – Thanks for the constructive review. Never hunted - just read some stuff and thought about what it would be like – I'm not a vegetarian, but I wonder if I should be, so that's where the questions about killing things came up – it seems most times when we see Hiccup eating, he eats fish, so I wondered if he might be mostly pescatarian and I have another story where this comes up (the other story is heavier and almost a sequel to this).**

 **I get what you are saying about the 'getting in the leggings' – I will confess I went more real teenage boy and less canon on for purpose of story. More about sex should come up, if this story go as planned, it will be significant when Gobber tells Hiccup about the Haddock family's past.**

 **As far as Hiccup's refusal to deal with serious issues, I too find that annoying in some stories. It's not a refusal, it's a deep pain and fear that he's going to face and not run from, and if it didn't come out enough in this post, Hiccup is going to full on state why he is reluctant in the next post - just a few lines in (unless I make a major revision). I don't think Astrid would be hurt if she knew why he felt this way, because I think it's a "too much love" issue (sort of goes back to HTTYD 2, when Hiccup thinks he's not as good as his father, and RTTE Blindsided episode, where he says he waited for the perfect moment to kiss her). It also comes back to some issues he has with his dad. I think if Astrid was there, they'd talk and she'd help him work it out, and someone like Astrid is going to show up soon to prod him a little more on this. But right now, he needs to talk to his dad and recognize his role in Berk and where he needs to go. If in the next few posts you don't think I'm getting to the root of the issue, feel free to kindly remark on it again or PM me. Thanks!**


	6. Chpt 6 - Things to Forget and Remember

**As, always, I own nothing.**

 **000**

 **You Weren't There**

"So, you've now received two marriage proposals? Do you plan on accepting any? Maybe making some of your own?" Stoick joked.

"Should I think about Hilda's proposal? I could take her last name and become a Thorston."

"Hiccup, what you said in there-"

"I'm sorry, it must be hard for her and I never meant-"

"Yes, that, but is that why you won't propose?"

"Dad, I've – almost died so many times. And Astrid too. Vigo took her hostage – that was because of me. How many times can I cheat death? How many times can the people around me cheat death? And it's not just death – a man like Vigo could have done worse than killing."

"People die and suffer all the time."

Hiccup looked out at the horizon and the sea that surrounded Berk, "What if I don't want to stay with a family?"

"When you have a family, you'll want to be there."

"Yeah, well mom's dead and you weren't there." Hiccup wondered what part of his head was in control today, first his mind wouldn't let him ask the obvious question that would make people happy, now it snapped to saying the most horrible things it could let lose.

He shook his head, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't-"

"No, you should." Stoick sighed, "It's true. You should say things that are true, even if they hurt. I didn't understand you. I avoided you, making me a bad father. I can only try to make up for it." Stoick put his hand on his son's shoulder. His father had been more affectionate since the dragon wars ended. Still stern, but Hiccup needed that, because with his recklessness and sarcasm he might have ended up dead if no one kept him in line.

Hiccup looked back at his father and quietly asked, "Were we honest with Mrs. Thorston?"

"We said the things she needed to hear to go forward. If I told her I tried to get her husband to take local work and he refused, the disappointment might make it hard for her to raise those kids. You'll have to learn for yourself when to manipulate words for a better reason than telling the complete truth."

"I think the family knows, dad – trust me, the twins know. No need to manipulate words."

"I told the Thorstons to divorce…but they love each other. It's not an ideal situation."

"Shouldn't they stop having kids? Isn't there a way?"

"Other than keeping their clothes on – no. Besides Berk can grow now, we have stability. I'd have ten kids myself, speaking of your mother."

"Would you still make me chief?"

"Who said I was still going to make you chief? Someone might want it more or could do it better, that is best for Berk. I'd be a bad leader if I gave the position to someone not qualified. Besides, I don't want you to get assassinated or deal with mutiny. Better to step aside than get stabbed in the back…Or so I've been told."

Hiccup laughed, "Throwing my words back at me. Classic."

"I'm trying to be a better father, by listening to you and incorporating your input."

"What should I do if I'm not chief?"

"Well, we don't have enough bread making Vikings or small home repair Vikings…"

"Ha ha. Taking it really far back I see. Guess you were listening back then."

"Sometimes…" His father smiled.

 **000**

 **You Didn't Have to Tell Me That**

Stoick looked up at the sky, determining the time by the position of the rising moon. "It's late. I need to go to the Hall. Run home, there are some papers on my table I need. Please, get them and bring them to the hall."

Remembering his father's slowness the night before, Hiccup asked, "Do you need Toothless to fly you up there?"

His father grunted at him and continued to the hall, leaving his smirking son and relieved dragon.

Hiccup and Toothless went home, where they entered to find the clothes from the morning clean and drying next to a strong fire in the hearth.

"Hiccup, I thought you and Stoick would go directly to the hall."

He jumped, despite the soft tone, "Mrs. Hofferson, what are you doing at my house?"

Elle Hofferson looked like an older version of Astrid with sharper features and narrower face, also beautiful, but not as endearingly cute as her daughter. To describe her in one word – lovely. Hiccup thought of Astrid like the wind, it could be the most pleasant breeze that filled the lungs and gave one the sense of being alive, but it could hit with a force that could destroy. And Mrs. Hofferson was like the air, every move she made had a lightness about it, calm and comforting.

She gave him a genuine embrace, "I heard you had laundry. I came by earlier when you were out and took it, then I brought it back to dry. Since I had time before dinner, I thought I swing by and fold it for you."

"I hope that didn't include my underwear because that would be embarrassing."

She laughed. And he noticed the underwear on the rack. So that happened.

She held his face in her hands. They felt warm against his skin, which had been cooled by the night air.

"Look at those big green eyes. You've gotten more handsome since last I saw you," she let go of his face and poked him in the stomach. "Still too thin, though!"

"Owch!" He jumped back. That's where Astrid inherited that love of hurting him.

"If you put on weight that wouldn't be painful. When I see Astrid, I'll tell her to make you eat more."

"I move around all the time - that keeps me thin."

"Yes, you're very fidgety. When we watched you as a child, we had to be careful you didn't wander off. And you always got into things…Not sure if you've really changed…"

"When you and Mr. Hofferson watched me?"

"No, me and the other women in the village – don't you remember?"

He watched Elle Hofferson check the clothes, then put them on the table to fold. It looked like she did some laundry for his dad as well. When he was around, his dad made him do laundry. It made him wonder if he had Mrs. Hofferson or other folks from the village do these things when he wasn't here to help. Stoick never thought of his people like his servants or serfs, he thought of them as his family. He took care of them and it made sense they wanted to take care of him.

"I remember some stuff, but I try to put the past behind me," he said sliding in to the chair across the table from her as he started to fold things.

"You shouldn't, it makes you who you are." She picked up his shirt, looking a little disappointed by its narrowness before folding it, "You grew taller, but I've been trying to fatten you up for years and it just hasn't been successful."

He recalled his reminiscence of earlier when she gave him more food than her girls, "Yes, I remember…"

"You remember back to when you were an infant?"

"No, just a few meals as a child…what are you talking about?"

"After you mom passed on, how do you think you ate?"

He did not like where this was going. He would be happier to hear Stoick put him in a pen with a sheep to nurse, than confirms something he wondered since learning about baby care. "Uh – yak milk?"

"Oh, you… Mostly you were fed by your aunt, Betty Jorgenson, Snotlout's mom, but when she wasn't around, I watched you and nursed you."

"Mrs. Hofferson, this conversation is very uncomfortable for me…" Hiccup thought about how awkward it felt to catch a glimpse of women feeding babies in public and he squirmed thinking he was once one of those babies – with Astrid's mother.

"It shouldn't be, it's natural. And you loved nursing. More so than my girls."

"I should probably say - I gave up that habit…"

"Oh yes, I remember, you had to - it got uncomfortable because whenever a woman held you, you tried to crawl into her top. Some babies do it, but you – you were skilled. You'd be halfway in before anyone noticed."

"I…I…don't do that now..."

"I should hope not," she laughed. "Now Astrid, I had to wean her because she bit me."

"Astrid's a biter? Who knew?" That was the worst piece of information to get now. He found himself uncomfortable with the feeding information, but he also had to adjust his pants as he wondered – _how can I get Astrid to bite me?_

"Some babies have to nurse from women who aren't their mothers. It happens all the time. We weren't going to let one of the few babies who survive that winter starve to death because he might grow up to feel uncomfortable about it later."

"Thank you for choosing my life over my embarrassment?" He stated, questioning if he might die of embarrassment right now. Or if Astrid ever heard about that. Or the twins – gods, Tuffnut would die for information like that.

"Anyhow, Hiccup, it is nice to see you. Leif said he enjoyed hunting with you and your father this morning. We never had sons, so it's nice for him to be able to do that with you."

"Well you know, I didn't have a mom for most of my life, so it's nice to have awkward conversations with you."

"You're so funny – I see why Astrid spends so much time with you. It's uncomfortable now, but when you have kids, you'll look back and be glad we talked."

"Sure…wow that fire is really going. I think even Toothless is hot. Look at him moving to the cold side of the room." Was the dragon rolling his eyes at him as he moved to a cooler corner to lay down?

"Hiccup, I've known you your whole life and Astrid talks about you all the time. I know you're just avoiding this conversation. Are there things you might want to talk about? You can ask me anything. I won't be mad."

"I'm not avoiding anything. Just, being hot makes me uncomfortable."

He knew she'd persist, like Astrid, so he threw a question out, one better chosen than some of the other stuff he said today, "Did you mind having to watch me as a child? Did you like me?"

"Everyone loved you. You were adorable and sweet. When you got older we might not have been as forgiving, because, well, everyone had high expectations for you – son of the chief, smarter than everyone, and we all had to raise and nurture you. Stoick couldn't do it alone. Sometimes it can be hard to tolerate children when you expect more from them. Maybe sometimes you think about these things and focus on the bad. And perhaps you should move beyond those ideas from the past because, the rest of us have. Your father wouldn't have let you go out on your own for a while and we wouldn't have let Astrid follow you out of Berk if people didn't think you competent."

"Do you ever worry about Astrid - that maybe I don't keep her safe?"

"Hiccup, women die here in Berk birthing children and getting kicked by yaks. Don't you think death in battle, behind a worthy leader is something to live for?"

"It's not something a child should have to deal with. Or a spouse should have to endure…"

She reached across the table to him, "Oh, Hiccup…we'll all die, and it's hard when it happens."

"I'm more afraid for the people I could leave behind. But, the way I live my life," his voice became quiet, "it's who I am. I can't give up fighting for things I believe and trying to understand dragons."

Mrs. Hofferson finished folding the laundry then sighed, "It's funny before Toothless your father worried about you being brave enough, but somehow you went so far beyond expectations with your selflessness and courage, it's like you can't to come back to something normal."

 **000**

 **Back at Dragon's Edge**

"Overcooked salty fish again," Snotlout whined.

"Ruffnut cooked, so complain to her," Tuffnut shot back.

Snotlout took another bite, "You know, now that I've had more, I realize it has a refined fishy salty flavor."

"Don't suck up to me because I'm the only girl left, Snotlout."

"No, I genuinely like it. I mean, I don't think I've been as forthcoming with my appreciation of all you do. I've held back because I didn't want to be too forward, I figured you'd appreciate it more if I reserved my affection –"

"Ugh – keep your affection to yourself," Astrid said washing her salty fish down with weak ale.

"Terror mail," Fishlegs announce as he walked into the clubhouse with Sharpshot perched on his shoulder, "Astrid this is for you…" The twins and Snotlout bolted up, knowing the letter would be from Hiccup. They needed to seize this opportunity to taunt the couple. Especially Astrid, who had few traits to mock.

Snotlout grabbed it first, while Ruffnut tackled Astrid, pinning her to the ground. Surprisingly the girls' had equal strength, but Ruffnut fought dirty and wrapped Astrid's braid in her hand. Astrid retaliated by grabbing the other blonde's left braid.

"Hiccup is going to be sorry he missed this," Snotlout yelled as he watched.

"Yeah," Said Tuffnut, "Wait that's my sister…" He went over to the pair and pulled them apart.

"Astrid, you know we are going to do everything we can to read that letter. Just give up now before this gets out of hand."

Astrid crossed her arms and shifted her weight into her left side. "Fine, read it," keeping her tone even.

Tuffnut grabbed the letter then mocked, "Aw, look at that Hiccup drew two little night furies intertwined into a heart. I see why you think he's so dreamy."

"Just read it."

Tuffnut cleared his throat and read in his most regal voice:

 _Dear Astrid,_

 _I miss you terribly. Berk is great, the food here is better than I remember. Everyone asks about you and the rest of the gang. Your father and my father made me go hunting with them this morning - waking me up at an hour, even the gods were unaware of. That was an experience. Whenever I start to feel comfortable around your dad, he'll drop hints that he's carrying weapons - so, that's what I'm dealing with._

 _We killed 2 boars and your dad taught me some dragon-less hunting skills. Also, we bonded over making fun of my dad and sharing embarrassing stories about you. I'll share those when I get back._

 _Gustave says "Hi". He's really into you. If you weren't seeing someone, that could really work out._

 _Wish you were here,_

 _Hiccup_

 _P.S. Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Snotlout - I know you intercepted this letter in the hopes of getting something dirty. So here it is – go clean the stables._

 _P.P.S. Everyone, listen to Astrid._

 _P.P.P.S. Don't read other people's mail. I want the stables spotless!_

Ruffnut smirked, "Even when he writes, he's like the stern, attentive father we never had."

Astrid snatched the letter, "Better get to cleaning the stables. Who knows when Hiccup will be back."

Everyone cleared out, even Fishlegs, who had no reason to. Astrid plopped down in a chair. It had only been a day and a half and she missed him. She held the letter to her heart then closed her eyes, imagining the ghost of his last kiss. When was he coming back? And why was Stoick still keeping him?

 **000**

 **Thanks to all those who favored, followed, and reviewed. It means so much to me.**

 **Author's note: For those who thought the breastfeeding thing was a little gross I want to explain – if Hiccup was under one year when he lost his mother, he probably still needed to nurse. Yeah, it's an awkward funny scene, but I put it in there, because it is also symbolic of how Berk and the community, gave something of themselves to come forward and nurture him. Why would a chief risk his life to "protect his own"? Because long ago they protected him when he most needed it. I felt like he couldn't be chief just because that was what he should do. I had him come back and meet the families that helped raise him, to show being chief is what he WANTED to do because the community was a part of him, just as he is a part of it.**


	7. Chapter 7- Celebration

**I own nothing**

 **000**

 **Gathering**

Mrs. Hofferson and Hiccup made small talk on the way to the Hall. Hiccup sensed she wanted something deeper, but he wanted to think about the deeper stuff alone. Alone time to think – something he would not have tonight.

As they approached the Hall, the aroma of cooked meat filled their noses and warmed them from the inside. Toothless walked on Hiccup's left with a bounce in his step. Hiccup figured he knew get some better-than-usual treats from the tables tonight.

"You know I do wish Astrid was here." Hiccup told Mrs. Hofferson.

The older woman wrapped her arms around his right one, "I know she wishes she was too. But, I'm sure she'll enjoy hearing about it."

The pair entered through the tall doors of the hall to find all the tables filled – everyone in Berk seemed to have come here tonight.

Hiccup started to relax. The noises of people being together and enjoying the night became a pleasant rumble in his ears.

"Hiccup!" A man's voice called.

He turned to see a stout red headed man and his round blond wife. "Mr. and Mrs. Ingerman!"

The couple walked over and took turns crushing him in exuberant hugs.

Mrs. Ingerman started her questions - How is Fishlegs? Is he eating enough? You look thin – is he getting thin? Are _you_ eating enough? Should we send back food? Are you growing vegetables? – You should all be eating vegetables – are you? Are you sure? – Don't lie to us, Hiccup. Is he sleeping well? Does he have enough clothes? – Are you sure? Should we send more clothes, just in case? Have you looked in his closet? Is he still seeing that Heather girl? She seemed nice…Is she nice? How is Astrid? How is Meatlug? Is she eating enough? Tell Fishlegs to write us more. We want to know he's OK.

And then the dreaded questions – Is Fishlegs safe? _Is_ he OK? He's not doing anything dangerous is he? – Yes statistically speaking dragons are dangerous, and we know you're training him, but we only have one child, and we don't see him much, and he doesn't write enough, so we depend on you to keep an eye on him - We do appreciate that, we know you watch out for him, but we heard there were some dragon hunters who attacked – tell him to stay safe. Good thing he rides the gronkle – not sure what we'd do if he was on one of those more dangerous dragons, no offense. And you do look after him, so we shouldn't worry so much.

Ah, the Ingermans – nicest couple in Berk and the most intellectual, but also, the most stressed. Three years after they married, Gothi told them they would be childless. That was the only time Hiccup could ever recall the old healer being wrong about anything. The devastated couple believed her for years until Fishlegs was born. And since then, the coupled doted on him and fretted over his wellbeing. Hiccup had no idea how they ever let him fight dragons back in the day, let alone ride dragons now.

Stoick called Hiccup over to his table, thankfully giving his son an out from the interrogation. He liked the Ingermans, but needed Fishlegs around as a buffer.

Stoick handed him a drink and made him mingle. The larger than normal crowd made Hiccup felt the tightening in his chest again. He saw Mr. Hofferson walking toward them. He knew what his dad had planned, he couldn't get out of this - Stoick cornered him. He'd have to make an announcement give a speech, maybe he could at least leave after tonight, because he would have to get back to Dragon's Edge before Astrid found out – although, who was going to tell her? Would she be mad that he made the announcement without her? They both knew it was a possibility when the whole thing started. No, she would understand he had been pushed to the edge and had to take the leap.

This was what men wanted – right? The family, the future, leadership, staying on an island to watch rowdy children, hoping psychos like Vigo didn't kidnap daddy or mommy or even his kids – who could grow up parentless –feeling an emptiness that couldn't be filled by Mrs. Hofferson's baby sitting or the father who didn't know what to do for fifteen years or – wow that went dark fast.

He rubbed his forehead then downed his drink faster than normal. He might need another and then a few more. Or many more…

He felt a warm hand on his shoulder, "You look stressed." He turned to see Mrs. Hofferson knowingly smiling behind him.

"I shouldn't be…" He mumbled.

Stoick approached them. He looked down at his son. Hiccup swallowed his painful hesitations about to agree to face everyone and just make the announcement to make everyone happy.

But before he could, Mrs. Hofferson spoke, "Stoick, you know Hiccup seems tired, you got him up early and he's been on the go all day. Clearly people are overwhelming him. You should say something nice to the crowd and let him relax – enjoy the evening. No good can come from wearing him down."

He wondered how much Mrs. Hofferson knew about him and her daughter. He mouthed a "thank you" and she waved, like it was nothing.

Hiccup and Stoick exchanged glance that let the other one know - this was not over. They would continue all this tomorrow.

Stoick left to talk to Leif Hofferson. Hiccup read their conversation from their movements – both didn't seem overly disappointed, but they did seem exhausted, heavier. Older. He had worn them out more than they wore him down.

Stoick walked to his chair at the front of the room, "I want to thank everyone for coming out tonight. I see we have a larger crowd than usual – all of Berk, even those of you in the further out farms trekked here – yes I saw you Avar Redson." He pointed to a hairy farmer in the crowd who tipped his hat.

"As always I want to thank the kitchen staff. And of course I'd like to thank Leif Hofferson and my son Hiccup for bring in the boars tonight. I especially want to thank Leif, for not killing my boy, considering he's taken his last daughter away for so long."

People started to chuckle knowingly. Hiccup froze a pleasant smile onto his face.

"Maybe next time they're both here we'll have a big announcement." The crowd made adorable awing noises and gave a few shouts.

Hiccup fought the urge to bury his head in his hands. Or die. Instead he forced his smile harder and waved. Stoick had him. He won. He might not have had to get up and make an announcement, but now he had a timeline. He had to marry Astrid sooner rather than later. He had to start a family sooner rather than later. And now he had to become chief sooner, rather than later.

Stoick went on to talk about things that were going on in Berk and congratulate other people on life changes or accomplishments.

As he talked, Hiccup noticed the way he did it. His words, gestures, and eye contact made the people in the room feel like he was talking to each of them. Everyone in there felt important. And then it hit him – his father made everyone in the tribe feel important for years, but not him. He had to prove himself and earn that love. The thing Mrs. Hofferson said about him going beyond expectations, he always had to do that. Always, trying to prove something – to his dad, his people, his team, and Astrid. And why did he have to? The twins screwed things up all the time with their antics. Snotlout's arrogance constantly caused issues. Astrid blew up half the town one Snoggletog and well – Fishlegs never did anything wrong, but he also didn't risk his life the way Hiccup did.

Stoick continued his speech, "It is also nice to see so many children here. I can remember a time when children were scarce - when we feared having them and when we had them, we feared losing them. We sacrifice so much for them and in return we want what the best for them. Not so long ago, I used to think that a son should be a man just like his father. Follow in his father's footsteps and be obedient. But Hiccup taught me, the greatest pride a father can have is when a son becomes a better man than his father could ever be. Someone willing to sacrifice himself for the community that is his family and lead that family into a better future."

And with those words Hiccup felt some of the bitterness chip away. All that could be done about the past was acknowledge it and move forward. He almost died so many times and he could die tomorrow or the next day or a hundred years from now. And he needed to release that bitterness, because he knew he could die at any time, and he would have wasted the moments where he could have instead felt happy.

And he had to step up. He should be chief. Not because he wanted to be powerful, but because he knew he could – would - do a good job. Maybe not like his dad, he might never live up to that, but if Stoick wasn't there, he had to be. And he would never be alone, because he was a part of Berk. Berk needed Hiccup, he saved it, and he made it better, but now, he let go of the last of his resentment and realized he always needed Berk.

Stoick finished his speech and gave a toast to his son. Hiccup missed the last of what his father said, because this time he wasn't listening, but he did hear his father's last words as he held his drink up in Hiccups direction and called him, "The pride of Berk."

Everyone rose their glass in the traditional Viking "Skol". People came over to the Haddocks to slap them on the back and tease Hiccup more about Astrid. His attitude towards being teased had changed – mostly because the taunts became friendly ribs regarding his success and were a sign of their acceptance. At one time he hated it, but now he saw it as an acceptance into his tribe, a way for people to interact with him and joke around, especially the men, who started to see him as more than their equal.

 **000**

 **Entertainment**

Gobber, Bucket, and Mulch had formed a band a while ago. Lots of folks played instruments and often got up and performed at gatherings, but Gobber's trio was particularly good and their songs were more on the funny side. Back at Dragon's Edge, the twins and Fishlegs has some musical talent, but they never seemed to have the time to play, since they spent most of their time doing dragon related things or repairs.

As the little band started to play, and the drinking started to take effect, folks started to feel free enough to get up and dance. Hiccup saw Mrs. Thorston looking lonely in the corner, so he pulled her off her feet and onto the floor. She seemed happy after a few spins and he eventually passed her off to another fellow on the dance floor. He went on to dance with Mrs. Ingerman for a while then Mrs. Hofferson then various other women in the village. Toothless even wandered to the dance floor and hopped around on his hind legs. Everyone laughed and patted the dragon on the head. It amazed them how willing the dragon was to fit in with people. And it amazed Hiccup how so many dragons, especially his, had become a part of the tribe. All his hard work with the dragons and Vikings had changed things, not only had he grown away from his bitterness for years of mistreatment, but Berk and the dragons had grown past their bitter years of fighting.

He realized he often spent so much time with Astrid and his own group he forgot about the rest of Berk the other people who he needed to care about. As he dance and drank more, the anxieties of the day started to lift. He started to feel his burden release as he started to understand why his dad always put so much of himself into his work and why he had high standards for his son. A good leader had to have a worthy successor. Another part of the job. The part Hiccup also needed to start thinking about.

When the band finished Gobber stood up again and announced that it was time for stories. As a child, Hiccup loved hearing Gobber and the other people from the village tell tales. Apparently, before she stopped talking, Gothi was the best storyteller in the village.

Gobber started by recounting a story about him and Stoick and the misadventures of their youth. After that he told the story about Tuffnut thinking he would turn into a Lycanwing.

Then people started requesting stories about Hiccup and Toothless- stories about Vigo, Alvin, Dagur, the change wings, whispering deaths, and some dragons he suspected other people imagined, because he never heard of them.

He laughed and turned to his dad, "Are they doing this because I'm here or did you put them up to this?"

"Nope, Gobber or I usually tell a story or two about you when we have these larger gatherings. Even Gustave sometimes tells one, those are less believable, because Astrid usually flirts with him in those. Why don't you tell the stories since you're here?"

Hiccup shifted in his seat. The room felt hot again. "No thanks, I'm good."

Gobber settled on telling the tale of Hiccup and Toothless escaping a dragon fighting ring after Hiccup trained thirty of the deadliest dragons at once, including Sleuther, a triple strike the size of a house. There were other elements to the story that Hiccup was pretty sure never happened – his riders taking out a hundred men and Toothless never made anyone wet their pants in fear, but he let those slide when he saw the smiles on everyone's faces and felt the excitement as the story unfolded.

He started to think about how the tales of heroes he heard as a boy, were now about him. When he came home, folks asked questions about stuff that he did, but he thought they were following up on gossip, not literally embellishing the incidents of his daily life.

As the stories ended some other folks got up to play music and the dancing started again.

Hiccup felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Gothi, "I'd be honored to dance with you, Gothi."

She bopped him on the head with her staff and handed him a letter, he hoped it was from Astrid, but instead was an invitation for him and Stoick from Mala to come visit and sign a treaty. He actually felt relieved that they would meet and lay this to rest, because he hoped the Defenders of the Wing and Berk could be allies for a long time.

 **000**

 **A Proposal Refusal**

The night neared its close as Hiccup sat across the table from Sven, who droned on and on about his sheep. They all looked alike, why did he bother naming them? And why did he think Hiccup knew which was which?

The music had calmed to softer instrumentals as the crowd wound down.

Hiccup downed the rest of his sixth drink, "I think I need to get another, Sven."

"Yu'll need a few more than just 'another' if you're plannin' on listenin' to more of this story." Gobber commented.

Hiccup grabbed his father's cup to get him a refill too.

As he trudged through the crowd people stopped him, poked at him, teased him. Ah, there's no place like home.

He filled up the mugs then returned to his table by walking around the outer edges of the hall to return to his seat. But when he returned, someone had taken his spot.

"Your fan club," Stoick said gesturing to Hilda.

She turned to Hiccup and batted her eyes.

"I suppose you didn't like my response earlier?"

She shook her high held head.

Hiccup got down on one knee and took her hand, "Well Hilda, you are a very lovely girl, from one of Berk's great clans. But, you see, I met someone long before you and I can't marry anyone but her. There is no one else I could ever be interested in, or any other choice I'd want to make."

He kept contact with her shiny blue eyes. He took her little chin between his fingers and turned her head to Gustave, "You know I may be a prince, but Gustave over there, he's one of my best knights. You should propose to him. A knight's waaaay more exciting than a prince. One day a prince will have to stay and take care of the kingdom and give orders, but the knights and their shield maidens get to have adventures and their lives won't be so heavy."

He dropped his hand and she looked at him, "But a prince is more important."

"All people in the kingdom are important. They just have different roles."

Overhearing their conversation, Stoick added, "Some people have more obligations – but they chose those roles because good men take on the responsibilities they need. A chief or a prince is a servant to the people. He must do what is best for them. Just like a husband and wife must serve each other. It's a big commitment."

Hiccup looked up at his dad. They exchanged a knowing look.

Hilda kept staring blankly at Hiccup, "Do you not like Gustave?"

She shrugged, "Eh." She kept looking at him.

"So, my answer is no. Are you going to be OK? I think you'll move on – right?"

"Whatever," she shrugged, then asked, "What's an 'obligation'?"

 **000**

 **Responses to reviews:**

 **Lissby – Thank you! I love your work and I suggest everyone who likes RTTE check out her story "My Other half". I is almost complete and reads like an intense M rated episode. And all her other work is great as well.**

 **CajunBear 73 – Your name is adorable – I love it! Don't worry about Hiccup and Astrid – they will be fine;) Thanks for the comment.**

 **To guest reviewer: Even though, you disagree, you phrased your comment in an honest constructive way and not all guest posters do that – so thank you for that and your comment. My response: This is a coming of age story. Hiccup isn't running from love, he is burdened by the idea of having to change his role and become a father, not just to his own children, but to all of Berk – hence why his is having to let go of the bitterness toward his own father and his people. His eventual job as chief is a huge responsibility for a 19 year old boy, even for a man in his 20s or 30s it would be hard and some men (i.e. Mr. Thorston in this story) never reach that level. As for the sex thing – I think I toned it down for a 19 year old male, but there is nothing wrong with him thinking about sex – he's only thinking about one girl and he has intentions of marriage. He should be thinking about it because having children is a big part of his role as chief. He needs to produce heirs to keep Berk stable. Stoick has hinted that producing children is an important part of Berk, and who do you think he and Berk want to start putting out children?**

 **If you go back to the previous post, there is a line I think might be bothering you, where Mrs. Hofferson talks about breast feeding and then Hiccup wonders:**

"Astrid's a biter…" That was the worst piece of information to get now. He found himself uncomfortable with the feeding information, but he also had to adjust his pants as he wondered – _how can I get Astrid to bite me?"_

 **Let me explain myself here- Hiccup is starting to shift his view of himself and Astrid as a result of his changing lives. They were friends for a long time, now lovers, will become spouses, and eventually parents. I added this line in because it shows the confusion people face as their lives change. It's Hiccup starting to slip from hesitations about parenthood to acceptance.**

 **The next chapter is going to be about the first time Hiccup and Astrid talk about sex (not in a gratuitous way), so you might want to skip that.**

 **Other guest: Thank you for your comment and suggestions. I did look into BC methods during this time - not very effective and some were unsafe, but I'm no expert. I have plans to do a chapter that goes into that. Basically Stoick would NOT want them using BC methods because some could cause long term infertility.**


	8. Chapter 8 - Belonging

**I own nothing.**

 **000**

 **Breakfast**

Hiccup's hang over didn't cause him to stay up all night vomiting. He rode dragons and Viking longships so his stomach could handle drinking - but his head. He figured it was his heads own fault, it should have made him stop eight or ten or twelve drinks in.

At least his dad let him sleep later before schlepping to the Hall for breakfast.

"I had Olaf make you something for that hang over." Stoick put down a mug of something yellow and thick.

"It's really just a head ache," Hiccup took a sip and gaged, "Oh gods! It's worse than Astrid's yak nog."

"Speaking of, are you all coming back for Snoggletog?"

"Do we have a choice?"

"You make it sound like being here is punishment?"

"It isn't?"

Stoick raised an eyebrow.

"Can I ask you a question?" His son asked.

"Yes, you can marry Astrid. Separate sleeping places till then."

"That is not what I was going to ask…I'm happy we're now being completely direct …I was going to ask, how you learned to give speeches."

"Reading. And writing. And practice. Listening. Being a chief isn't something you wake up doing. It's hard, like being a parent."

"Is this one of your white lies of telling people what they 'needed to hear to go forward'? Because on this trip we established that you don't write anything. And your listening is sporadic at best. And when do you read?"

"I did all those things before you were born and when you were younger. Now I don't have time to write or read. If you want to be good at talking to people, you have to do all those things. And you have to believe what you're saying is the right thing. Not necessarily what you believe to be true, but the right thing – like what we said to Mrs. Thorston. "

"Maybe you should swing by the library today…" Stoick suggested before getting up to talk to Bucket and Mulch.

Hiccup choked down another sip of his "hangover cure".

 **000**

 **After Heather**

After breakfast Stoick went to check on some things in the kitchen and Hiccup and Toothless went for a quick ride.

On his way back to meet with his father, Hiccup swung by the library, where Berk kept all its books, letters, and parchments. It was where Fishlegs and Meatlug hung out most of the time when they came home.

He smiled to himself for a second as he recalled another time his dad sent him to the library.

 **000**

 **Flashback**

It was after Heather first came to Berk and Astrid helped her rescue her parents. Hiccup and Astrid had been growing close before Heather came along, but for some reason the month after Heather left, Astrid couldn't get close enough to Hiccup, to a level even he couldn't bear. In the morning when he walked out the door - there she was waiting on Stormfly to go flying with him and Toothless. After eating breakfast together, they spent most of the day at Dragon Academy. Then, she follow him to the Smithy and hung around until even Gobber noticed her clinginess and told her to leave. But at dinner time, she came back, insisting he needed to eat. At meals, she sat closer than normal, almost in his lap. One time she even sat on his left side, which she knew he hated, and when he made a joke about playing elbows instead of footsie at dinner, she apologized for it the rest of the meal, then each subsequent meal pointed out that she was sitting on his right side. She follow him home after dinner, and stayed at his house till Stoick kicked her out. He had to start telling her when he had to pee, because she kept following him into the woods. Even the other teens noticed, the twins and Snotlout excited to find something new to tease him about. He almost got to a point of too much Astrid, something he thought not possible, but he needed time to think, time to be quiet, and time to go to the freaking bathroom.

He finally got a reprieve one night when she had to help her mother with something and he had dinner with his dad.

"Can I ask you something about girls, dad?"

Stoick choked on his chicken and turned red.

"No, not like that," Hiccup assured him. "Ever since Heather left, Astrid hasn't left me alone. And she hasn't been herself. She's agrees with me all the time and wants to know what I think about everything. Normally, I'd like that but, it's getting-"

"Overwhelming."

"Yes."

"Do you like Astrid?"

"Of course. A lot. And I don't want to tell her to go away. I think saying something would upset her."

Stoick stroked his beard, "Maybe when Heather was here you already upset her and instead of being angry, she's gone in the opposite direction and is trying to get something more. Maybe you could give her more and that will cause her to step back."

"Like show up at her house before she gets up and then stay at night till her parents kick me out. Also, she already has been standing and sitting uncomfortable close to me. If I try to get closer that we might meld into on person."

Stoick grimaced, "Don't do that. You don't have to do that. Maybe express appreciation for her friendship and tell her you're not going anywhere. By the way, I'm only implying a no more than hugging and talking direction. After all you're only 15."

"I'm 16."

"Are you sure?" Stoick scratched his head, "Does that mean we need to have that talk again?"

"I know my age. Please no talk."

"Good," Stoick thought for a moment, "You know there is a book in the library – top shelf, far back, black blank cover – don't take it out of the library, when it goes missing teen boys are always the first suspects. I suggest you get some other books to cover it up, you know, in case someone asks what you are doing."

"What are you talking about?"

"Someday you'll know. Take my plate to the kitchen." Stoick got up, patted him on the shoulder, then departed to help Sven with some fence mending.

Hiccup turned to his dragon, "Let's sneak out for a ride before Astrid comes looking for me." He and Toothless slinked out the back.

After going out for a long ride, Hiccup and Toothless returned energized. Being that is was late summer, the northern sun still shed its white light over the little village.

"It's unlikely she'd look for me in the library – right? And it is almost midnight, she's probably in bed." Toothless responded by stopping to lick his armpit, "I keep the book of dragons at home, so there's not much reason to be there…But, I should swing by to see if new books have been added. I should read more…"

For a long time, Berk kept its books and important papers in metal trunks so they wouldn't be burned in the dragon raids, but after the end of the dragon wars, Stoick, prodded by the Ingermans, decided the town needed a library, now that things could be kept safely in wooden buildings.

The library, a building smaller than a house, but larger than a shed, stood close to the Great Hall toward the outer edges of town. Upon entering Hiccup smelled the dry, sharp odor of paper and ink. Inside, shelves covered walls, which surrounded a little table with benches in the middle. The single room had no fire place and during the night or dark days the light came from the lanterns Hiccup crafted. Other than Fishlegs or the occasional council member, the building tended to be empty, but people did borrow books and return them at leisure.

Hiccup wandered around and grabbed a variety of book, without looking at them - they weren't the book he was looking for.

He called Toothless over and stood on the dragon's back to reach the top shelf – it was there he found a black book with no indication of its contents on the outside.

He brought it down to the little table with the others he pulled and sat near the window. Why did he have to take a couple of books?

He placed the black book before him and opened it to a random page.

"Oh Gods!" He slammed the book closed and jumped back. Toothless gave him a curious look.

He knew the dragon couldn't read, but could Toothless see pictures in books? And if he did – did he see those pictures? It did not matter, he felt very uncomfortable with anyone in the room.

"Hey boy," He got up and walked over to the door. "You should sit outside, enjoy the weather - instead of being cramped up in here. I'll be out soon." Truth be told, the building was so small the dragon kept bumping into the table every time he turned.

Toothless gave him a questioning look as he meandered out.

Hiccup returned to the table taking a deep breath before opening the book, this time to the first page in the hopes of finding something milder. He did. The book began with a chapter about marriage and commitments, the roles of husbands, and fathers – be faithful, be willing to sacrifice, get your life in order before making a commitment, etc. Then, there was a chapter for wives, which he skipped because he didn't think he'd be a wife and the stuff about moon cycles was too much for him to think about right now. There was a boring chapter on marriage ceremonies, Fishlegs would have loved that part. Surprisingly, the most risqué pictures where the ones he first opened to.

Hiccup wondered if the other guys knew about this book.

Tuffnut knew the most about girls because of his sister. One day when Astrid and Ruffnut both stayed home "sick" Tuffnut mortified the other guys by telling them, "They're not here because of that monthly girl thing."

Did the girls know about this book? Girls seemed to talk about things, so they probably knew. Astrid always seemed to know everything, maybe not some of this stuff. And as he got into salaciously technical details, he sort of hoped she didn't - he kind of didn't want to know, but did want to know. He knew most of it. Had started imagining most of it, but there were details he didn't know yet – pregnancy, birth, changes women and men went through, childcare, breastfeeding, being with a woman after children, life with women who could no longer have children. Solutions to infertility.

It was like book of dragon, but all about relationships. He wondered if his father even knew about all this stuff. Maybe he tried not to think about it after his mom died and that's why he sent his son here.

He went back and looked at some of the pictures. He started to think about Astrid and where their relationship was going. Her temper seemed hot and cold to most people, but to him it was always warm. Like the warmness he started to feel looking at some of the pictures and thinking about the two of them.

"Hiccup!" Astrid's voice called from outside, "Are you in the library?"

Hiccup panicked and slammed the book shut.

"H-hi, Astrid, what are you doing here?"

"I saw Toothless outside, so I figured you were here. Sort of late to be at the library?" her voice dripped with suspicion.

"Yeah, well see my dad…" she might not like the real reason, "sent me to hear to do some reading on-" Hiccup picked up the book on top, "Animal Husbandry?"

Oh, wow –that was sort of the truth, crazy because he picked that book at random.

"Not something I'd think you were interested in…husbandry – eh?" She took the book from him.

"You know – taking care of animals. Getting them to make more animals. That sort of thing, not the husband-y thing."

She opened the book to a random page. "I know what it means," she rolled her eyes. "Some of these pictures might not be appropriate for you…" She lifted flipped the book showing a picture of sheep mating. Hiccup almost fainted.

"You don't look so good," she said.

"My dad wanted me to look up farming stuff. For the future. Maybe we'll need more sheep. And we need to know how to get them."

"I guess," she crossed over to sit next to him on the bench.

He took the book back and turned it to a random picture-less page. "Yep, this is where I left off – 'How to know when your ewe can mate'." Another joke from the gods for sure.

He pretended to read the book, her presence making his insides feel like they were melting.

She read over his shoulder for a few moments. He looked at the words, but absorbed nothing. She sat so close, her arm brushing his.

"Did you notice I sat on your right side again?" She gave him a little nudge and his heart felt like it would kick out of his chest. "I know we're not eating, but I figured you preferred I sit here."

"Yeah, that's great." He swallowed hard. He should have been done reading the page he was on, but he was afraid to turn the page. What might be next?

He shut the book, "I can read this another time…it's late and I should go to bed. I mean I know it's still light out, since these summer days last so long, but I should sleep."

"OK…"Astrid stayed close.

Hiccup finally asked, "Has something been bothering you? Not right now…I mean now, but for a while, like maybe after Heather left?"

"No," she said, in a way he knew she lied to make him happy.

"Be honest."

She took a breath and fixed her eyes at the table, "It upset me you didn't show up for our races. And you should have listened when I said Heather was suspicious." She looked at him, reasoning, "but it all worked out, so I guess I'm not mad."

"You can be mad, Astrid. I should have listened. I rely on you, and you came through. I should have been better…And in the end you fixed the problem and helped Heather. I'm sorry."

She smiled, but things still didn't seem right. Hiccup thought back to the moment when Heather left, she hugged Astrid goodbye and patted Toothless, but she left Hiccup standing there with his arms out waiting for an embrace.

And now he realized - Heather got what he was missing. Astrid had kissed him three times by now, she never showed interest in anyone else. She always supported him, stood with him, and she gave him ever sign to show she was his.

And Hiccup knew, he belonged to Astrid. He belonged to her when he first felt the pain of a crush. When he first got that sinking feeling when she walked by and ignored him. When he tried to kill a dragon, but couldn't. However, as many words as he said and gestures he might have made, he never made any move to let Astrid know he wanted her to belong to him.

He closed the book and hugged her. "You mean so much to me. No one should have doubted you – least of all me. Heather was great and all, but she'll never be as great as you. I could never feel the way about anyone I feel about you. Along with dad and Toothless, you are the most important person I have and always will be."

He pulled away and admired her smile. "You should go home and get some rest, young lady. I don't want your dad thinking, we're doing something inappropriate - he's kind of scary…"

Astrid laughed, "That he is. And by inappropriate do you mean reading that unmarked book about sex and pretending to be reading about sheep?"

Hiccup turned pale. And his heart might have completely stopped.

She explained, "My mom drug me hear and made me read the parts about behavior before marriage after she saw me kissing you last Snoggletog."

He tried to compose himself, forcing a joke, "So you come here often?"

She laughed.

He swallowed hard and shifted in the seat to face her. So? Was she telling him he needed to take a bigger step? A much bigger step?

He moved his right arm behind her, placing it on the bench and his left arm laid out on the table before her. He thought about how this had to happen next - he'd go in for the kiss, deepen it, maybe slip in his tongue, he'd push her back, maybe they'd start on the bench then he'd push her to the table, he'd have to knock off the books, and lock the door – when was he going to lock the door? That needed to happen. Should he try to take her clothes off? Could he figure out that armor? And how about the bindings? There were instructions in the book on how to remove bindings – why didn't he actually pay attention to that? That was important!

Oh gods, he needed to start moving before the moment slipped away. He needed his right hand to move instead of gripping the wooden bench. It held tight, not wanting to go. It was useless. Could he trade the gods that useless arm for his lost left leg?

Forget the arm - the lower half of his body was ready. His right leg moved to push into her left leg. He started to lean in and close his eyes. Finally, his arm started to obey – releasing the bench and sliding up her back. It wasn't the perfect moment, yet, but he was going for it anyway. He started to sweat and pant and nothing had even happened yet.

He felt Astrid's shaky hand on his chest and she pushed him back.

He pulled his arms away and turning to face his pile of books.

She stayed turned toward him and kept looking at him, "I want to still see you and be like we were – there will always be a Hiccup and an Astrid, and that can mean whatever we want it to mean - someday. I shouldn't have thought someone else would end this. But the time now, it isn't perfect."

Hiccup took a deep breath in and let it out. She kissed him on the cheek and before leaving, added, "Thanks for apologizing."

He stayed for a few moments. It wasn't a rejection. It was a delay. He remembered all those phrases in the hopes that she would too. He knew this was not the time, because his mind still lingered in dirtier places and now she only needed reassurance - that he was following her because he wanted to, and he wanted something more. Something to build together. If he moved too fast and went too far now, they never could walk back. This path only went forward, fate never changed the past.

He skimmed through the black book in front of him, seeing the chapter on pregnancy made him think of poor little Astrid having to walk around with an extended belly, not being able to ride Stormfly or participate in activities with the other teens. He closed the book and returned it to the shelf. They weren't ready for that. Not yet.

 **000**

 **Present time - Back at the Edge**

Astrid groomed Stormfly outside the stables, while the twins and Snotlout cleaned. She heard Snotlout whine about a barrel of forgotten fish that went bad. The twins laugh and she figured she better keep a closer eye on them. They probably intended to use the fish in a prank – she just needed to figure out when and where.

"I don't hear cleaning," she yelled toward the open door. Footsteps running in opposite directions replaced chatter.

She smiled for a moment, set Stormfly's brush aside, then reached under her shirt to retrieve Hiccup's letter from the place where she kept it in folds of her bindings.

She admired the little night fury heart - his secret message to her. She traced it with her fingers before folding the paper and returning it to its place near her real heart.

 **Thanks to all who reviewed, favored, and followed.**


	9. Chapter 9 - The Past Mistaked of Others

**A/N: Season 5 of RTTE was great, so if you didn't see it, make it happen. Also, I was relieved that this pretty much can fit b/t seasons 4 and 5 without me having to change anything. A few of the last chapters are started and I have a general outline of where this will go. I can't promise speedy updates, but I can promise this will be completed and won't be too long. And, I suppose if you've stuck around this long, I can promise an engagement scene in the next few chapters.**

 **000**

 **Present time back at Berk**

After the library, Hiccup scribbled another letter and set it off with the terrors, who had returned with nothing. He wondered at Astrid's lack of response. Should he have been more romantic in his words and risked getting her teased by their peers in his absence? He hoped she was well and missed him too.

Stoick had not returned home yet, so Hiccup decided to get started on the work he needed to accomplish before going back to Dragon's Edge. With the volcano on the island still being unstable, he wanted to get back soon and he felt the time had come for him to finish his visit to Berk. Really, he could leave at any time, but he knew some things needed to be taken care of first, whether he wanted to do them or not.

Hiccup and Toothless decided to swing by the Smithy to gather supplies and some help.

There, they found Gobber, moving slower than Hiccup remembered, taking off his apron and putting tools aside.

"Going somewhere?" Hiccup asked as he strolled through the open door.

"I sometimes take a nap this time of day…I've got more help now, so I don't need to be here always. I might even get another apprentice."

"What's the new guy like?"

"Ya mean Grubby? I forgot how annoying teens are, they think they know everything, but ya have to teach them everything. They're clumsy, they talk back. Not like me, when I was young."

"Like I was?"

"He's bigger than you, but not as smart. Learns fast, but doesn't figure things out on his own."

"You know – I never got how Berk loves children, but seems to have something against teens."

"Ay, ya may have a point there. Don't think your father just let ya take everyone out to Dragon's Edge just because he wanted ya to have a life of adventure. It didn't hurt that without the twins and Snotlout. Gothie has free time now and the rest of us have fewer repairs. Not to mention, Fishlegs would never have moved out otherwise."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. He looked around. The structure and placement of things remained as he remembered, but the details had changed: older tools - rusted, lesser used items - dusty, walls blackened with years of smoke, paint chipped, wood splintered, dirt floor worn deeper.

"Since you're going to nap, can I borrow your apprentice? I need to make some repairs."

Gobber eased into a chair next to a workbench, "Don't see why not."

Hiccup hopped onto the table to face him.

"So, other than everyone talking about me while I've been away – what else have I missed?"

Gobber was the biggest gossip in the village. His singleness gave him time to worry about other people's business and his job meant everyone visited him regularly.

"Not much. Time moving forward and us old folks slowing down."

"What other tales has everyone been telling about me at night?"

Gobber laughed, "All about you now is it?"

Hiccup shrugged and raised his eyebrows.

"Well the gossip about you and Astrid seemed to calm. Everyone thinks ya'll make it official soon. Now ya have to deal with the rumors about something salacious outside of marriage."

Hiccup rolled his eyes, "Why do people waste time worrying about that?"

"Well – if you were just anyone… but you're going to be chief and any youngin's you produce will go on to be future rulers and that ties into people's future."

"So, they don't want me to start producing now?"

Gobber waved his hand, "Don't do that – unless you really upset your father. Didn't he ever tell you about your uncle?"

"Spitelout? You mean his sister's husband who he refers to as a brother because they are practically like brothers?"

"No, his real and older brother – the one who didn't make it…"

Surprised, Hiccup shook his head. "I never heard about this."

"Stoick don't talk much about painful things, or blackspots on the Haddock past. Probably would prefer to remember the good, but he had a brother - who would have been chief.

"Anyhow, it was quite the scandal back in the day, before my time of course, but the controversy shadowed your father till he proved himself as a leader.

"You see, his parents had to put their wedding off for a long time because the tribe had some hard years, but your grandma, she wanted to have a big wedding for her big family. Anyhow, in Berk, when we do it up right, a chief's wedding can go for a whole week. Especially, if that chief is powerful, and well your grandfather – he wanted to show his power, but for a big event you have to prepare."

Hiccup cringed at the thought of having to host a party for a whole week. He barely managed the attention from the night before.

Gobber winked, "Well, not waiting for some parts of the wedding night seems to be something ya inherited -if ya get my meanin'."

"I do. It's not like that," Hiccup spoke firmly, "And, I appreciate it if people shut those rumors down."

The old blacksmith shrugged. "So, at the wedding, yar grandma couldn't hide she was two months from giving birth. For any other couple, this would have been something people gossiped 'bout and then forgot 'bout once the couple wed." Gobber pointed a finger at him. "But yar grandpa, he had enemies who wanted to see Berk fall. And what better way to cause trouble, then discrediting the heir. So, some spread rumors the baby was not his, while others said a baby outside of marriage was not official."

"This is important because, there are some who believe the first-born son is the best son – the one who will bring his family the most honor and will be the smartest. This of course is crazy, because yar's truly is the fifth of five, and it is well known, I'm the best my lot. And I'm especially better than my oldest brother Alegut – he's the worst, and as dumb as a –"

"Gobber," Hiccup held up his hand. "My family."

"Oh, right, where was I…. yar grandma birthed your uncle two months after her wedding and then yar dad two years later. But, yar uncle, he was frail, Gothie didn't liked the sound of his lungs. Said they didn't form right – back then Gothie could talk. Oh, and talk she did, they say. I was not there, but it was said she talked more than all the women in the village combine."

"Do you know what relevance means?" Hiccup asked.

"Do you know what respect means?" Gobber bopped the back of his head, prompting his old apprentice to yelp, but quiet.

"Anyhow, as they grew, Stoick got bigger and took care of his older brother as though he was the eldest. However, into their teens, his brother fell ill and never recovered. Some said it was the gods way of stepping in to make sure the rightful man became a leader, and that the older boy was cursed because he was born outside of the marriage bond. But, you know Stoick loved his brother, and it all really bothered him. And it bothered him others used that to discredit him and to discredit his brother. He would've been happy to see his brother rule, and would have helped 'im."

"I never knew all that."

"Maybe you should have asked."

"How do you bring that up in conversation?" Hiccup flung his arms and shoulders about "Dad, is there depressing family history we should discuss?"

"I mean, you should talk to the man more. You're always out picking some fight or wandering off looking for dragons. You know – it's about time you come home," Gobber nagged.

Hiccup knew Gobber well enough to know his father's old friend meant nothing harsh, he might have said this because he wanted Hiccup there. Maybe deep down the old guy missed him.

But maybe not, as his next move was to rise up and head home, "I ain't gonna tell ya how to live your life, but I will say if you don't want to be chief so soon, and I expect you don't, don't go 'round doing things that upset yar father so much. Not all of us are still young, you know. And stress'll shorten an old man's life."

"Right," Hiccup waved his old mentor off and contemplated for a few moments before gathering supplies and hunting down Grubby and Gustav.

 **A/N: I wasn't as authentic in writing Gobber's accent because sometimes it can be hard to read and there is no way to spell check it. Hopefully, I scattered enough stuff in there to give it a hint of authenticity.**

 **I should also probably note that, I know Stoick and Spitelout are brothers in the books, but the show has never explored it. People have suggested they are half or step brothers, but that doesn't make sense to me because they don't look alike. So I made them close brother-in-laws in the story. I hope that doesn't set anyone off. Thanks.**

 **Thanks you for all the follow, favs, and reviews.**

 **I was hurried last time so I did not get respond to some reviews from last time, apologies.**

 **CajunBear73 – I'm happy you found Hiccup's dodging to be funny – I never know if people will get the humor. And Hiccup and Astrid might be more on the same page than folks think;)**

 **Balthazar – 1066 – Hopefully, I can show that the Hofferson's are more complex in both stories, but here they are less stressed and want to win Hiccup over. There was a slight hint to Mrs. Hofferson's colder side when Hiccup remembered his childhood with Astrid – she seems to treat him better because he's a boy and she yells at Astrid(chapter 3 – section titled "When We Were Young"). We'll see hints of another side of the parents and Astrid will tell Hiccup some stuff about them that might hint at a little bit of darkness later (although most of this story will keep the upbeat tone). I tried to keep them likable but complicated in both stories, although in the other one their level of stress causes them to lash out more. For my own mental sanity I try to balance working with darker stuff by splitting my time with things that are lighter.**


	10. Chapter 10 - Fixing

**I own nothing.**

 **Fixing**

If there was one thing Hiccup had mastered in the past few years, it was the ability to organize Thorstons. And that skill served him well that day.

He lined all the little Thorstons up like little soldiers and instructed them on how to painting properly, how to sand wood, and showed them how to mix a putty he and Fishlegs invented then use it to fill wall cracks. He made all the activities competitions to keep them working hard (even though, he preferred teamwork over competition).

Meanwhile, he made Grubby and Gustave help him replace broken boards, patch the roof, and do other fixes that were beyond the skills of the children. Toothless helped by hauling the supplies around and up to the roof. Hiccup discovered that Gustave needed constant supervision, so he never strayed more than a foot from the unruly teen.

After a few hours of work, Mrs. Thorston had Hildy bring around water to the older boys. When she came up to Gustave, Hiccup tried to get the two to talk. Neither one seemed interested in the other. After she left, the boy turned to Hiccup and said, "Are you trying to set us up or something?"

Hiccup shrugged knowingly.

"Ew, she's way younger than me. And she's annoying." Gustave stuck out his tongue.

"Hmm younger and annoying…Interesting. I mean, probably not as interesting as the stories I've heard you've been telling about MY girl."

Grubby, who had been concentrating on tasks of nailing shingles to the roof looked up at Hiccup with a twinge of admiration for his boldness. He waited for further drama to unfold, wondering if Hiccup might toss Gustave off the roof, but when nothing happened, he went back to work. Gustave continued working as before, since Hiccup showed no deeper animosity, he got the idea, but knew they were still cool.

The sun started to sink into the horizon changing the evening light into a dim blue, which hid shadows and cooled the earth. The early winter breeze hurried their pace as the guys outside finished their work on the roof then moved inside to warm up by the hearth and inspect the children's work.

Not long after they went in with Toothless trotting behind, they heard a knock at the door. Mrs. Throston opened it to reveal Stoick and Gobber stopping by – the first man to check on his son and the second to retrieve his apprentice.

"The repairs helped," Mrs. Thorston commented, "The house already feels warmer. And with the children so well occupied, I was able to clean."

Stoick looked around noticing that not only were many things freshly painted and repaired, but also the toys tucked in their proper places, laundry folded, and spotless dishes stacked where they belonged. He had never seen the house so clean and organized.

"Good work, son."

"Eh, I had help."

Stoick put his hand on the young man's shoulder, "No, you did this."

They watched as the children helped Gustave and Grubby pack away the tools and clean up their mess.

Stoick added, "Most impressively you occupied Gustave for half a day. That alone cut down on my work. Maybe it is time you tried again to move him to Dragon's Edge."

Hiccup laughed as he recalled the tension Gustave caused during his last extended stay. If Gustave came back and he lacked the time to supervise the teen, it would fall on someone else, which meant he would still be dealing with it via complaints and clean up.

However, thinking back to Gustave's last visit he did devise a solution. "You know he and Dagur get along amazingly well, and our now friendly neighbor owes me some favors."

Stoick raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I reunited him with his estranged sister, helped him retrieve Vigo's gold (which rebuilt Berserker Island), and I let him take my Triple Strike (which the rest of the gang and I trained). Oh, also, I know he stole my plans for a stable - at least he must have because they went missing after his last visit. So, if Gustave needs to take a vacation, just mention my name and Dagur will be happy to accommodate him."

Plus, Hiccup knew Dagur feared Stoick too much to refuse.

Hiccup dismissed his teen helpers.

After they departed Hiccup turned to Gobber, "I'll have Gustave help you at the smithy tomorrow to make up for the time and work Grubby missed."

Gobber replied, "YOU can make up for Gurbby's time. You'll get twice his work done in half the time. And if ya send Gustave to my place, I'll be making you clean up his mess, and that might take ya so long ya won't be back at Dragon's Edge for a month."

Toothless and Stoick exchanged knowing grins.

Hiccup rolled his eyes as Gobber shuffled out the door into the early evening.

Before departing, Hiccup help Mrs. Thorston bundle up her children, wrapping them in little fur coats with fuzzy wool mitten and hats, before he and Stoick walked with the Throston family to the hall for dinner.

They found the meal more subdued than the previous night. Berk was a busy village with many laborious jobs that had to be done, as such, most folks could only stay up late and party a few nights a week.

Hiccup and his dad mingled for a while then sat alone together.

"You know, dad…I've been thinking—"

"You're going to go back and talk to Leif?"

"I'll do that tomorrow…But, that's not what I was thinking about…I was thinking maybe we should set up some sort of school. Not just a dragon or fighting academy, like a place where younger kids are organized and learn basic stuff."

"You mean instead of having them apprentice? Or learn at home with their parents?"

Hiccup started to wave his arms as he spoke, getting more excited about the idea as he spoke about it. "They can still do that, but look, Snotlout can barely read or write. And the twins only got interested in reading after Fishlegs and I pushed them to do it more. Now Tuffnut reads all the time. Not sure if he understands it, but he talks about the stuff he's read. Anyhow, if we got all the kids together and taught them at once, we'd know they had the opportunity to learn the same things and could enhance skills their parents might not know. Mrs. Thorston can hardly read or count, so she can't pass those skills along to her kids. And if they were gone for a few hours a day, she could contribute and be useful in other ways – I know she's good with woodwork and fighting."

Stoick seemed to like the idea, pondering it as he stroked his beard. "It's a big change, but maybe I'll consider it."

"We could use the library as a teaching building, and the Ingermans love kids and need to focus on something with Fishlegs gone. And when Fishlegs comes back he could take over for them. Or share the work so no one would do it full time. And I could teach about dragons. And Astrid could teach fighting skills, which I know Gobber does now, but he's slowing down."

Hiccup's mind halted and his excitement stilled as he realized he had started to talk about things related to returning.

Reading his break in excitement, Stoick told him, "For Thor's sake son. I won't make you come home tomorrow. You can still live out on your own for a while longer. But you do need to start thinking about the long term."

Hiccup released a heavy sigh, "When my work out there is done. I'll be back. And I'll be back for Snoggletog and make the announcement then."

 **000**

 **Back at Dragon's Edge**

"Astrid," Tuffnut said at dinner, "it's been three months. Will you at least consider that Stoick might have killed Hiccup?"

"The sooner you start to accept it, the sooner you can move on." Ruffnut added patting the other blonde's shoulder.

"Ugh! You guys – it has been a few days. And why would Stoick kill his only son?" Fishlegs argued as he started to consider killing the twins.

"Really? It seems like months…" Tuffnut rubbed his chin.

"Maybe he killed him because he though Hiccup was plotting to kill him first and become Chief," Ruffnut blurted out dramatically.

Fishlegs shot that theory down, "Everyone knows Hiccup feels reluctance toward becoming chief. One of the reasons he move all the way out here?"

Tuffnut went on, "OK then, maybe he was just really mad this time."

"Why? Over this? We all know Hiccup has done far worse," Snotlout stated.

Ruffnut argued, "It is an accumulation of things. Happens all the time, Hiccup keeps doing things to get under his skin and then one day, Stoick just snaps." She emphasized her final word, by breaking the chicken bone in her hand.

"Please, sis, Chicken is in the room, violence is unnecessary."

Tuffnut picked up chicken, then started to pet her and whisper words of love.

A terrible terror with a letter attached to its leg flew in through the open clubhouse door and landed next to Astrid, disrupting the useless conversation.

She picked up the little fellow, removed the note, and read it aloud, "Still miss you, Astrid. And maybe everyone else. I will be spending some time today at the Thorston's, doing repairs. Meanwhile, I hope the Thorston's back with you are behaving and doing their stables cleaning. Will be back to see you soon."

"Look at that," Tuffnut looked over Astrid's shoulder, "This time he dotted the "i's" with hearts. He is just so dreamy."

"Do you think Hiccup is trying to put the moves on mom?" Ruffnut asked.

Tuffnut gasped, "He should be so lucky. We should be so lucky. Wait- is this why he keeps ordering us around? Because all along he was planning on becoming - our father?"

"Psh, Hiccup as a dad, that's just nuts…" Snotlout mumbled as he took another swig of his drink.

"Don't you talk about new daddy that way!" Tuffnut yelled while slapping the drink from Snotlout's hand, "He's the best daddy I ever had and is more of a father than my own father! And more of a father than you ever were to me! How dare you – he loves me. He loves us!" Tuffnut grabbed Ruffnut and the two started to cry together, "Daddy Hiccup loves all his many children, even if they aren't his."

Fishlegs shook his head, "OK, stop. Why would he mention missing Astrid? Your mother is almost twice his age. Your mom is still married to your dad - even if you never see him. And your mom's house is a wreck, because it is inhabited by Thorstons, so it makes sense Hiccup, who specializes in repairing Thorston damage, would go there to help her with repairs…And are you even listening to my arguments?"

Everyone became silent then went back to eating.

"OK guys, new theory," Ruff announced, "Stoick has become Hiccup, taking on his identity for a deeper more sinister plot that we have yet to uncover."

"Maybe Stoick did it all to get to mom," Tuffnut replied, "He wants to be our daddy! We have to warn her she is about to get with a filicidal manic. He'll fill all the cidal like a crazy man."

"Probably still better than our real dad…"

"How do you guys come up with these theories?" Astrid asked.

Tuffnut explained, "I just say the first thing that pops into my head. If you think too hard about it, you're just wasting time."

 **000**

 **Thanks to all who Fav, Followed, and Reviewed. You guys are the best.**

 **Also, just so there is no confusion and I don't get any hate reviews, the twin's comments (like most of what they say) is meant to be in jest. No one is going to marry their mama (see previous info about Mr. Thorston, she is already married). The first part of the chapter is meant to show Hiccup organizing people like a chief should and being parental as he has to start shifting his thinking from the Edge to Berk. The second part is meant to be a funny and show how ridiculous the twins are.**


	11. Chapter 11- Back Home

**A/N: Content warning and spoiler alert – I want readers to know that this chapter discusses miscarriages and the loss of children and human trafficking. There is nothing graphic or violent, nor are there any deep details. I just want folks to be aware in case it is something they don't want to read about. This chapter is less relevant to this story, than it is to its sequel (The Paths Fate Didn't Give Us) – it ties them together. So if you skip it, you won't be too confused and its more important details will come up later.**

 **Another thing I want to add is that I have no political agenda or opinions in writing this, what I have written is what I think the characters might say in the storyline I have created and what is relevant to the plot of this story.**

– **Thank you.**

 **000**

Back Home

Hiccup and Toothless left the hall before Stoick, who hung back to discuss something with Spitlout. The tension between the two older men came up more recently these days, as Sptitlout seemed to go off on his own secret missions without telling his wife or brother-in-law. Hiccup wondered how Stoick seemed to fix other people's arguments, but could never work out his own tensions with some people.

As he walked home, he gazed up to watch the full moon floating above like the pale pupil of a god. Around it star clusters shining like halos of fairy dust.

Hiccup noticed the day's work had worn Toothless out as the dragon plodded along beside him with eyes half open. He too felt heavier and his sore body craved sleep in a warm bed.

"This should be like a vacation for you, bud." Hiccup nudged the weary dragon. "Less training and you can sleep while I have to talk to people."

Toothless rolled his eyes and playfully nudged back. Hiccup found it amusing how Toothless had learned so much of human language.

As they got closer to home, Hiccup noticed a thin line of smoke trailing from the chimney and dissipating into the darkness. It seemed odd that the fire would still be strong, since he and Stoick had been out for a while. He became more unsettled, as he got closer to the house and it had a strange inhabited feeling.

He opened the door and walked over the threshold. Inside, he found Mrs. Hofferson sitting by the hearth, similar to the night before, but tonight she had no reason to be there.

She said nothing as he approached cautiously. "Mrs. Hofferson, what are you doing here so late? Shouldn't you be home? With your husband?"

When she turned her head Hiccup could see the glints of tears under her eyes and a hint of redness tinted her cheeks.

"Hiccup?" She forced a smile to her face. "Come sit with me."

Hiccup looked at Toothless, who clearly did not sense any awkwardness in the situation, or shame for himself, since he responded to Hiccup's glance by licking his armpit.

Hiccup shuffled to the opposite chair. He noticed a yellow-brown piece of parchment in her lap, its crumpled state implying she had gripped it repeatedly.

"What's that?" Hiccup asked.

Elie Hofferson straightened the letter with the side of her palm, making a crinkling sound as she flattened in her lap. "Something from my daughter," her voice sounded worn.

Her strange behavior and the letter's presence made Hiccup's insides begin to feel as crinkled as the paper. He wondered about it as he searched for his next words.

However, Mrs. Hofferson spoke next, "Is there something wrong with Astrid, Hiccup? Some reason you didn't marry her years ago?"

For a loaded question, Hiccup had an easy answer, "I don't think either of us was ready years ago. And we needed to build our friendship…and maybe ourselves."

Her response seemed slow. So, Hiccup went on, "I'm sorry if taking the time to move forward concerned you."

She looked down at the letter. "Do you love her and would you stay with her no matter what?"

"Of course, you know me, I've never showed interest in anyone else. I never would leave. And I think she'd stick with me too. And I suppose we have nowhere else to go, or want to go…Why do you ask? What's _in_ the letter?"

Hiccup nerves pricked, why would Astrid not write to him, but to her mother? His already active mind raced toward a million troubling possibilities.

Mrs. Hofferson folded up the note, "Nothing you should worry about…Will your father be along soon?"

"Yes…Do you have concerns about Astrid?"

"Do you? I know she might not seem very domestic with her terrible cooking and her sewing and cleaning can be improved, but I will work with her on those. So you shouldn't worry about those things, just in case you were."

"Eh, I've been in her hut… I mean walked in, then left - quickly. And she's pretty clean, she can be meticulous about some things, like weapons. And I plan on eating at the hall once we're married. I'm sure I'm not perfect either…Maybe we'll have kids who can do some of our chores… I'll just have to wait 10 years till they get there…"

She flinched at the mention of kids.

"You know, Hiccup," he heard her swallow before she went on, "Astrid thinks she can be on her own, but she doesn't know how hard the world can be. She may be pretty, but it would be hard for her to find someone else after everyone thinks she's been your's. Not many men would find interest in a girl set aside by the future chief then turned away."

"Oh, wow, Mrs. Hofferson, nothing like that is going on – I assure you. And Astrid would be fine. Heck, she could probably do better than me alone."

The door swung open and Stoick's heavy footsteps announced his presence before they looked up to see him.

"Elie? Why are you here so late?"

Mrs. Hofferson stood up and went to him, holding out the letter, her hand shaking like the ground beneath a quaken. She sniffled as the chief read the letter. As he went through it, his shoulders fell and he rubbed his forehead with his thumb and pointer finger.

"Hiccup, take Toothless and get some wood from outside. Go out further, there is a pile at the edge of the forest that Sven and I cut the other day I've been meaning to bring it up. Take your time."

Hiccup hesitated, studying his dad's forlorn demeanor before he and Toothless traipsed back into the night. After warming up inside, the cold dark air felt like a slap in the face. Some clouds had rolled in to hide the moon, giving it a dim glow like a candle behind thin fabric and there seemed to be fewer stars now.

As he approached the edge of the forest, the Berk night seemed darker and lonelier.

Hiccup collected some wood, wishing he had worn gloves as the splinters pricked him and the cold hardness felt painful against his frigid fingers. He arranged it in a leather sling for Toothless to haul before heading home. They returned after half an hour and stacked the wood outside.

The dragon and rider re-entered the house to the chief and Mrs. Hofferson sitting at the kitchen table across from each other. They remained still when Hiccup entered, not flinching as though they had been caught in an inappropriate situation, but Hiccup felt a deep unease as he entered the room, like something thick and unsettling filled the air.

"Everything will be alright," Stoick murmured as he rose up. He helped Elie stand and walk out the door as she wiped tears from her face. She hardly acknowledge Hiccup as she departed into the gelid night.

Hiccup's mind raced with a million tiny interactions between his father and Mrs. Hofferson –innocent contact now seeming sinister.

Stoick collapsed in his chair and fiddled with the letter Mrs. Hofferson left.

Hiccup felt shaky as he took a seat. "What's in the letter?"

"Bad news…but maybe not unexpected."

Hiccup shifted in his seat and in a harsher tone than he expected asked, "Does Mrs. Hofferson come by late at night often?"

Stoick flinched as he looked at his son.

"I know about the Hoffersons, dad." Hiccup sat back crossing his arms, which felt heavy for their size.

"You know?" Stoick asked.

"You know?" Hiccup asked back.

"My village, my people. Not much I don't know. I've been friends with both of them for years, and tried to mediate. I even suggested a divorce, but those are rare, especially if a couple lived together civilly for so long and has children."

Hiccup looked down as he fiddled with his fingers. Talking about Astrid's parents had always seemed wrong, like nasty gossip. "Astrid told me. She said she didn't want to be like them. I never really knew why, not even after she explained how they were. I've see that they never talk to each other, even while standing side by side. I always thought it strange how Astrid never wanted to be home. I mean she loves her parents, but she was never around them. She always stayed out late, got up early, did her own thing. When she finally told me, I started to doubt if she had really wanted to be near me and considered she might just want to be away from them. They seem nice and they are nice to me, but Astrid can't be fake and hates to see it in other people."

Stoick rested his folded hands on the table, Hiccup folded his arms and sat back in his chair.

Stoick explained, "Maybe it's not fake to them. Maybe it's not showing personal problems to the outside."

"Why would Mrs. Hofferson be here?"

"Elie and I have been friends for a long time –your mother was her best friend." Stoick laughed, "You don't need to be suspicious."

Hiccup thought about what to say next and realized he probably seemed silly, "Why did you never re-marry? After mom? Would it have made your job easier? Would it have made me easier?"

"Son, have you ever loved anyone other than Astrid?"

"No. Why would I?"

"The people in our family really only have one great love, and we never seem to move on from that. As long as the Haddocks have been, we just love once. That's why there's so few of us."

Hiccup though about it, "Did you think about marrying not for love?"

"No. There were offers. Even ones that could have offered alliances. I also never wanted anyone else to challenge you. I couldn't let another heir threaten you or Berk's stability. Maybe that's why I was hard on you sometimes, I had one son and have one choice to lead after I'm gone."

"But, since you're going to live forever I won't worry about that," Hiccup joked.

Hiccup unfolded his arms and leaned forward as he became serious, "Gobber told me about my uncle."

"Yes...I miss him, especially on the days when this job is hard. I was the stronger one, he the wiser one."

"You know before Toothless –"

"Let me stop you there – do you see how much stress Gustave causes me? Teenager boys are not the easiest people for me to deal with. And you've always thought so differently and were so stubborn." Father and son smiled at the memories despite past angst. "Anything I said or that happened in the past, we should probably let go. I over protected you because of losing my brother, and was overly harsh somedays because I was like my own father. It's better not to waste years regretting…You know there are thing I wish I'd done differently with your mother. We fought more than we should have, and I didn't always listen. I let my temper get the best of me sometimes and that lead to yelling and hurt feelings."

"You? Not listen and yelling?"

Stoick glared at him, "You'll have arguments with your wife, too. And hard times. Different ones."

"Doubtful. I'm very agreeable."

Stoick handed him the letter. Hiccup's face fell as he read it. However, he felt relieved that it came from the Hofferson's other daughter and right now had nothing to do with him, "Does Astrid know?"

"Doubtful. She's never been close with her sister."

"I know, but I think she would want to know. But, I suppose stuff like this happens all the time."

Stoick reached across the table and put his hand on his son's shoulder, "It's happened in Astrid's family before."

Hiccup absorbed the information slowly. The past few days had so many ups and downs and were emotionally strenuous. Would it always be like this when he moved back? Could he get used to it?

"Are we going to have a longer more meaningful conversation now?"

"As a teen, Elie was not like Astrid, she had a wild side that caused her to take off with a group of men who passed through on a merchant ship. Her elderly father, a widower who married late in life and lost his wife to eel pox when Elie was a toddler, lacked the strength to go after her, so your mother and I tracked her to the Seven Mountains."

Hiccup flinched at the mention of the port town, he knew it to be a place that trafficked and sold unsuspecting girls.

"We found her, but not soon enough. We located her in the town's thralls, where Valka found her huddled in a cage and ill from an infection. In her time away, she had become pregnant and the people trying to sell her terminated it, but it almost killed her. I bought her back and we returned to Berk, where Gothi healed her. We tried to cover it up and no one spoke about it, but many suspected. Before it happened, every man in the surrounding tribes sought her hand - she was so lovely. However, after that no one wanted her.

"Even the women who had been her friends turned away when she walked by. Not your mother though. Not my young, beautiful, kind Valka. She never judged anyone."

Stoick pinched away the tears that gathered at the pink corners of his eyes.

"When Elie strolled down the streets alone, Valka hooked arms with her and engaged her in conversation. She silenced the whispers that followed her. And when Leif and Finn Hofferson moved to Berk after their own village was destroyed in a dragon raid, she raved to them about her friend Elie's value as a potential wife, warrior, and citizen of Berk.

"The Hoffersons of course had heard about Elie, most of the sounding tribes did, but Leif didn't care about her past and found Berk's strict beholding to traditions annoying. Also, he's always been of a rebel. He thought people shouldn't care what others do – he hates gossip."

A nostalgic smile crossed Stoick lips as he sniffled.

"Anyway, he married Elie and they had their two girls. Ingrid – beautiful, gentile, and domestic like her mother, and Astrid, fierce, honest, and strong like her father." Stoick looked back at his son. For a moment, Hiccup could tell his father recognized pieces of his past there - in the future that was his son.

The aging chief's voice lowered, "However, they lost their boys – still births or miscarriages. And Elie blamed her past, she felt guilty, and she always wanted sons."

"Did, Mr. Hofferson want that, too?"

"Never talked about it if he did. He's an accepting man, and if the gods didn't give him a son, that was his fate. He though her seeing it as the gods' punishment silly, he felt the paths laid out for us by the gods have reasons known only to them. And questioning it dishonors them."

The weight of the story felt heavy in Hiccup's mind. Now, not having children seemed as rough as having them.

"Do you understand why we're talking about this son?"

"Maybe…" Hiccup mumbled.

Stoick gave him a hard look. "When you're in charge of the village, you will need to watch out for these things."

"OK," Hiccup said mostly because his dad wanted a response.

"Also," Stoick needed to drill in his point, "It would be very bad if something like this happened and you were involved."

Hiccup's chest seemed tighter, "If someone did get pregnant or we needed to keep them from getting pregnant? What should I do?"

"One – Astrid as your wife should watch out for these things for the village women. She'll need to make sure they trust her. So, she best not get into that fix herself. Two - never shame anyone for unfortunate choices. Gothi will tell you that prevent babies does not work, can be dangerous, and goes against the will of the gods. And choosing to end it is even worse."

Hiccup glanced down at the letter on the table, "Do you think, Astrid's sister might have done something wrong?"

Stoick looked at the letter. "No, but it might mean that the Hofferson women might have difficulties keeping babies. Elie might have always suspected this because her mother also had problems, but some people like to blame themselves for things out of their control, it makes them feel in control."

"You mean by thinking that her past mistakes caused her to lose her boys, she actually feels better, because she knows she has more control over her life, and she thinks it's not something her daughters will have to live with as well?"

Stoick nodded then somberly added, "I think you know what that means for you."

"I do, but it doesn't change the way I feel about Astrid. It just might be something else we have to deal with."

Hiccup felt the knot in his stomach again. He looked down and became quiet.

"Son, I know that look better than you think… You have been keeping secrets from me."

"Oh, gods." Hiccup ran his hands through his hair. "It's not what you think. I can explain..."

 **A/N:**

 **Don't freak out – this will have a happy ending. And, unless I come up with some additional story that must be told, the next part I post will be Hiccup's proposal and that will be so gooey and happy you might feel like you ate a whole bag of gummy bears by the time you're done.**

 **One additional thing – some folks have brought up the issue of birth control in this time period. I researched this – methods were not great. Some might have worked, but terminating pregnancies could lead to infertility or death and was looked down upon. This could be debated, but it's probably best not to think about it too hard historical accuracy and just go with the story.**


	12. Chapter 12 - Things Kept

**A/N: There is a flashback in the middle of the story. I just don't want anyone to be confused by the jump back in time. And then I go back the present. Hopefully this chapter will sort out some of the reviews about Hiccup being a coward about commitment.**

 **000**

"I noticed your door stuck the other day. I'm here to fix that for you."

Leif Hofferson tugged the heavy oak door open further for Hiccup to enter, the bottom producing a rough scraping noise as it moved with force.

Hiccup selected the tools he needed from Gobber's old tool chest then started adjusting the oxidized iron hinges.

"You going back soon, son?"

"Tomorrow morning. I'd leave this afternoon, but I owe Gobber time in the forge. I have one last thing to do after this, then I'll go help him. Unless you have something else for me to fix?"

Leif limped over to his kitchen chair, setting himself down like his back was formed of eggshells, "Nah. Are you and Astrid coming back for Snoggletog?"

Hiccup hesitated before responding, focused on twisting the rusted screws deeper in to the iron plate of the hinge, "Yeah, we'll be back. I'll make you some gronkle iron hinges to replace these and bring them with me, but this should last till then. Astrid and I have some important stuff to do, and since everyone else's dragons takes off to lay eggs we'll be staying for a little while. Plus, because we missed Thawfest this year and a few other events, the Ingermans complained to dad they aren't getting enough 'Fishlegs Time'?"

Mr. Hofferson snickered, "If there were a Thawfest category for 'overbearing parents' they would win that."

"I heard that since the dragon riders got too old to compete the games have gotten pretty dull – maybe we should add other categories that adults could compete in – Gobber would win 'nosiest gossip'."

"Spitlout would get 'most ridiculous gripes'."

"And 'most likely to annoy the chief'," Hiccup chuckled.

"That might go to Sven."

"No, Sven would get 'most likely to die, by angering the chief with dumb questions'." Hiccup put oil on the hinges.

"Oh, your father would be 'most likely to kill someone suddenly, for a reason a good natured Viking would have let slide'."

Hiccup let out a few self-deprecating laughs, "There were many times I thought I would be that Viking he murdered. I'm sure you know his sense of humor has a narrow range."

Hiccup finished with the hinges then tested the door a few times to make sure it swung smoothly.

"I'd offer you tea or something warm to drink," Leif said when Hiccup finished, "but I don't know how to boil water, only Elie does. But, I do have some honey mead."

Hiccup nodded and thanked him. Leif poured some of the amber liquid into a mug and the two sat at the table across from each other.

"Just so you know, I got it from Sven," The older man said when he noticed Hiccup sniffing his drink before taking a sip. "I don't make it myself. I sense you're apprehensive, probably because last Snoggletog Astrid's Yak nog made you ill."

"Oh, I don't know if-"

"Hiccup, she makes it because she thinks you like it. When she makes it, my house smells like Sour milk and dragon dung. You need to be honest about these things."

"I'll think about it…" Hiccup took a big gulp of the liquid, it tasted like wildflowers and the hint of alcohol seemed stronger than normal, but he needed it.

"Where is Mrs. Hofferson?"

"Out doing what she does. I really only keep track of her when she tells me to."

That sounded dysfunctional to Hiccup, but his father told him not to judge people. Besides, nagging his future-in-laws about their distant relationship was not on his "to do" list today. However, he did need to say something else.

"I heard about your other daughter. I'm sorry for your loss." Hiccup watched the old man sigh and look down at the hand that rested in his lap.

Any pain he had about the incident or memories it might have stirred up, he kept below a placid surface. He had to. That is what Viking men did. Over the ages, maybe their cold weather and harsh land iced their emotions as it did the flowing rivers and mighty oceans.

Mr. Hofferson shook it off, "Happens. She wasn't far along. She'll have others."

"Mrs. Hofferson seemed very upset-"

"She gets that way - thinks her daughters need to keep husbands happy to survive. Her father thought that way. Not me. Astrid takes care of herself. But, not her sister, Ingrid, probably because she believe the crazy stuff her mom tells her."

Mr. Hofferson went on, perhaps a drop of remorse drifting to the glass-smooth surface of his demeanor. "She always wanted a son, thought boys were better and could be self-reliant."

"Did you want one?"

Leif kept his eyes down, connecting with another and acknowledging that pain or sharing it with others might cause crack in the surface. Cracks could turn to brakes. And Viking men never broke, "Many children didn't make it through the dragon wars and tight winters. I'm happy to have the children I got. And maybe I'd be happy with you as a son."

Hiccup realized that no matter how close they got, he and Leif might share stories and laughter and be family, but they would never share the emotional tremors that rocked beneath the surface. This was as close as they would ever be and now they would push onward.

Hiccup leaned forward, "Actually, Mr. Hoffreson you might not be as happy once you hear what I have to say." Despite his nervousness Hiccup locked his eyes on the older, but familiar sky-blue eyes. "I've been keeping something from you."

 **000**

 **Flashback: Three months ago**

"It's just over there," Hiccup turned Toothless the wind around him tousling his sun lightened hair.

He gestured to the inner area of the brown jagged island ahead. "Fly further in. I'll scout the beach below."

Astrid scanned the broken rocks and thick grained sand on the outskirts. "It doesn't look like much, not sure why you would think Ryker's camping out here?"

"Get closer," he yelled, the wind pulling back his words. "You'll see signs."

Hiccup peeled away, while she brought Stormfly toward the center of the island. Below, she saw more hard rock, where only stubborn birds made nest and the hardiest plants survived. However, as they flew further in, the somber terrain opened up to a lush open field overlooking the rolling ocean. It was in the middle of the ribbons of wavy grass that she spotted something odd, cut wild flowers cluster into the shape of a heart.

Stormfly swooped down to the secret Arcadian field.

The rider and dragon landed in the center of the shape. To the side, hidden in the tendrils of the grass lay a folded blanket, a bottle of mead, and some packed food.

"Surprise." Astrid spun around to see Hiccup and Toothless landed behind her.

"You did this?"

He dismounted and walked up to her. She grabbed him and pressed her hungry lips to his.

"Actually, the flower just grow like this here," he smirked. "So weird - I thought you'd be interested in this strange, natural phenomenon."

She laughed, "And the picnic?"

"Ryker must have left it. Peace offering maybe…"

She grabbed his shirt, "Come here, you." She jumped into him, pushing him to the soft ground with a light thud.

She planted so many warm kisses on his face it seemed she managed to land one on each of summer freckles. He responded by nudged her head aside to nibble the velvety skin on her neck.

Their breathing intensified as he pulled her closer, hands grasping with increasing lust. He felt warm and alive against her and his scent of leather and smoky fire filled her lungs.

"I love you," she breathed into his ear.

"Really!" Without warning he threw her on her back and pinned her to the ground.

"Yes, really," she giggled.

He pulled back. "No, I mean are you really saying that?"

"Wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it. Why – did you doubt I loved you?"

Hiccup sighed. "No. I love you, too."

He rolled off then sat next to her. "I just wanted to say it first."

Astrid propped herself up on her arm, "What? Why?"

Hiccup picked up a red oleander and fingers fiddled with its crimson petals. "It's just that you kissed me first years ago. Then second. Then third. And when I finally went to make the big move, after you regained your sight, you had to prod me into it. I mean, it's not really a big deal, it's just – I want to make the move. I don't want it to seem like I'm spending my life running from us or doing things because you're prompting me. I was going to say it after we stopped kissing."

"I'm sorry." Her smile teasing smile revealed she did not feel deeply sorry.

"It's not like you knew…"

"Well, I do love you. I do. I love you." Her arms snaked over him. "I love everything about you, except the annoying things, like how I can beat you to romantic things all the time." She teased, "And I just love you."

"Are you trying to wear it out?"

"I'm just outdoing you. Because, I love you."

"I won't get tired of hearing it…"

"I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love –"

Hiccup stopped her with another breathtaking kiss and pinned her to the ground again. Somehow his ambitious left hand found her right and their fingers interlaced.

Finally, their movement grew to a point of stopping or going further, and he rolled beside her again to slow the increasing heat.

"I'm going to get you back for this, Astrid Hofferson." He propped himself on his side. His free hand captured and twitted her flaxen braid.

"How?"

"When we finally go all the way – I'm going to make love to you first. And I'll be better at it."

"Wow – a statement like that makes me worry you might not know what you're doing. AND makes me doubt you'd be that good. But, I'll still love you!" She teased looking up at him and poking his chin with her index finger.

"Oh, I'm going to do so many things first from here on out. You'll be amazed."

"Like what? Oh, and I love you, by the way."

"I'm gonna have your kids first!" He joked.

"Not possible. AND, again – wondering if you know how these things work. Also, I love you."

"Oh yeah, maybe it's a thing is some alternative universes."

"That's as silly as you marrying Toothless!"

"Oh yeah, well he'd probably let me confess my undying love first."

"You're always confessing you're undying love to him. More than you've confessed it to me, because I had to say it first. And by the way – I love you."

"Are you jealous?" He playfully yanked her braid.

"Of a scaly dragon – not so much. We're only meant for each other in this world. And I still love you."

They giggled.

"I'm trying to be serious. I love you, Astrid Hofferson. I can't remember a time when I didn't."

"I know. And even if you didn't say it first with words, I'm pretty sure this giant cheesy flower heart says it. So, you can always tell yourself you said it first."

He stood up and pulled her up to him, holding her tightly, against her cheek, she felt his strong and good heart beating in his chest. He released her, putting a hand on each shoulder to turn her toward the sunset.

"Wow – look at that."

"Yeah, really amazing."

She watched it for a moment before turning back. But, he no longer stood. He was down on one knee.

"Astrid Hofferson – "

"Will I marry you?!" She screamed and threw her arms around him, her petit body setting the pair off balance and again tumbling back to the ground.

She covered him with even more kisses as he struggled to breathe beneath her weight and the sudden impact. "Might not have been…what… was going… to ask…Also, might die...without…air."

She propped herself up on her forearms and stroked his face with the back of her fingernails, "You know, I feel like you've already told me you love me thousands of times, even if it wasn't with those exact words."

"Great. Are you going to marry me or not?"

"I love you."

"Not a yes, but it'll do."

They kissed some more then held each other as the golden sun slipped into the ocean painting the world in the deeper crepuscular shades. They ate dinner by candlelight continuing the usual banter and discussing their current lives.

"Hiccup?" She said drinking her mead after dinner, "How is this going to work?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, like what did your dad say? And my dad?"

"Nothing yet. I was going to tell them later. I really only need your permission."

"Hiccup, you know your father and my mother– everyone is going to expect us to get married, move back to Berk, and start a family."

She could tell by the widening of his eyes thoughts of babies and ending this freedom they had now made him uncomfortable.

"How hard did you think this through?"

"I thought we'd get engaged, live like we had for a few years, maybe move into one hut. Maybe marry this spring, but stay as we are. Not much will change."

"Hiccup, you're smart – do you really believe your father won't make you start training to be chief, and make us produce more little Berkians soon? Replenishing the population now that we have peace with the dragons has been a huge priority for him."

"Did you want me to wait to propose? Knowing that we love each other and that's the next logical step."

"I suppose not."

"I want to be with you, Astrid," He held her hands in his "I might not have mapped out the road from here, but I wanted to show you this commitment."

"Is it what you want?"

"I want to be with you. And who I am, and what we'll be, has responsibilities."

"That you're not ready for."

He ran his hand through his auburn hair. "That I'm not ready for."

Astrid added "Then there is the issue of the other riders. Our friends. We can't leave them here if we go back to Berk and I don't think they'd feel comfortable with us sleeping in the same place here."

"Not to mention the taunting." Although Hiccup figured he could deal with that. They were all friends and teasing each other had become their custom.

"Our friends aren't ready to get married, I don't know if they'll understand or accept it if we make this happen too soon. It might be better if we ease into it."

"Maybe we wait to tell everyone. Until the time is right," Astrid said moving her hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah…" She saw the wrinkles in his brow and knew the idea of the future and the stress of thinking about it now would wear on him.

"How do you feel?" He asked as he pulled her head to his chest.

"Good. You know you're the only person I would ever want to marry."

"Because of your slim selection of Hooligan males?" His mouth formed into a half-grin.

Their fingers intertwined like stitched being pulled taunt, "Well that too…I just never really thought much of being married. Until we started spending time together."

He blanketed his arms around her.

"I just always saw my parents and how unhappy they became and I never wanted to be like that," she told him.

"Wait? Your parents? Leif and Elie Hofferson, the most beautiful couple in Berk? Maybe the world. And I've seen lots of Vikings, so that's not an overstatement."

Astrid smiled, "Beautiful people don't always make beautiful relationships."

"But they can make beautiful children." Hiccup kissed the top of her head.

"I don't want to be like them. They're nice people and they put up a good front in public, but along the way they focused so much on being partners in life, they fell out of love. Or, maybe they never really were in love and just felt they needed to marry each other as a good business arrangement."

The couple sat quietly for a few moments.

"You know Astrid, my dad once told me he and my mom fought all the time before she disappeared. He regrets that. But, we're not our parents. We might inherit their responsibilities. We might not chose our own paths but we have some say in how we get to where we need to go. I'm not your dad or my dad. And you're not your mom or mine. We're our own people. It is easy to look at them and think we'll be like them, because sometimes we spend so much time with them it becomes all we know, and we think it is the only we can get to our destination."

Astrid looked up at him, "If anyone has shown me that, it's you. When, you first took me for a ride on Toothless then trained dragons and changed everything in Berk, I saw - we all saw - we didn't have to be like we'd been. I told you we'd inherit out parent's war, but you ended that war."

Hiccup scratched the back of his head. "Honestly, I might have gotten us into some other wars."

Astrid laughed. "So what are we going to do?"

Hiccup shrugged, "Well, if you're not in any rush, let's make the most of the time we have and put off making the announcement as long as we can. It'll be just between us."

"Alright."

"I don't want anything to change. Well maybe one thing…" He leaned down and pushed into a deeper kiss while his hands slid closer to places they had yet to go.

"Mimcup," she mumbled as his tongue explored her mouth.

"Hmmm…"

She pulled back to look at him, "My parents would be very upset if they knew we were doing that. My mom would pull me back to Berk by my hair. And my dad is a pretty fierce guy, you might want to watch out for him."

He laughed, "OK, I'll try my best to wait. No promises that _you_ can't wait for all this raw Viking."

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Did you just gesture to all of you?"

"I love you, Astrid."

"Too late! I beat you to it."

Astrid knew how he felt. She knew his commitment was real and the thing he wanted the most. In the weeks to come, when he addressed the others with the utmost authority, he'd turn to her when no one saw and cupped his hands into the shape of a heart. When the group stood in the training arena and everyone else looked the other way, he'd make eye contact with her and flick his head toward the ground, where he'd drawn a little heart in the loose dirt just for her. Sometimes she'd come home to find the things in her hut arranged into that shape as well. He just couldn't stop telling her how much he loved her.

 **000**

 **Present Time**

"I'm not upset at all," Mr. Hofferson said, "I just don't know why you'd let yourself stress so deeply over this."

"Maybe I thought you'd want me to come to you before Astrid?"

"Great Odin, if you'd come to me first, like it was my choice, she have killed you. You did the right thing, preserving your life and all. No idea what Stoick would do if my daughter killed his son."

"I felt bad because talking to you like a man would have been the respectful thing, not because of Astrid, but because I'll be a part of your family and will be your son and son's should talk to fathers. And I just didn't know what would happen next."

Mr. Hofferson laughed. "I suppose you talked to your father about this?"

"Yeah, last night…and I've been dropping hints."

"Hasn't he been dropping hints since you were fifteen?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, now I feel awkward, because your father should have told you – Elie disliked Astrid spending so much time alone with you, thought it would give her a reputation, because that's the absurd stuff she concerns herself with. She likes you though, so don't misinterpret that…Anyhow, she demanded I make some marriage agreement with Stoick. Even though, I thought it archaic. But, I've considered you and Astrid engaged for years. But I suppose it's always nice to be asked things instead of being told."

"Oh...I bet Astrid will find that funny."

"Eh, tell her on a good day, and blame it on her mom, she might not take the news well. Also, don't mention that the whole village knows. Astrid has a temper, that's why I'm happy she's with someone who has a level head. You'd have to be a man who can tame dragons to keep her calm."

"Yeah, sometimes I have to send Snotlout out when she's angry to prevent her from murdering him."

"He's a Jorgenson, maybe you shouldn't stop her."

They both laughed.

Hiccup kicked himself over how much he worried about telling the Hofferson's and his dad. He wasted so much time worrying about what was to come and what he kept from people and in the end it all worked out. And even stranger, was how many secrets and things other people had kept to themselves and how much he didn't know about himself or the people around him.

"Why did no one tell me?"

"Stoick and I wanted things to happen organically and for you to not feel you had to marry someone for some reason. Honestly, I didn't think about it much – these are things women worry about, like Elie. And you're still a boy, so you don't have to worry about these things until you have daughters."

Leif put his weathered hand on Hiccup's shoulder, despite its age, it still felt sturdy, "You know, Hiccup, I always knew you'd become and extraordinary man, even when others might have not believed it. It's hard when you have no choice in life and have a path set for you, but you've found people who will follow along the road."

"There's no one I'd rather have than your daughter to walk beside me. I love her, sir. Maybe for my whole life. She is my better half. Hel, even now I miss her."

"I'm happy for you, son."

Hiccup got up and turned to leave.

"One other thing, Hiccup."

The boy turned back to him.

"Your father was honest with me. About everything." Leif Hofferson pulled out his knife. "Since my daughter has her own place, she should be sleeping there. Alone."

"Where did that knife come from? Are you always armed?"

Suddenly all the anxiety from earlier flooded back, but didn't run as deep.

 **000**

 **I've sort of been low on steam lately, so I apologize if this had more errors than usual. Also, I feel like I worked it over so many times I couldn't read it anymore.**

 **Thanks to all those who Fav, Followed, and Reviewed.**

 **Especially CajunBear and the Guest who have left a review of each guys are great:)  
**

 **On a sad note, this story will probably end in one or two chapters. Although this is a happy thing because 1. It shows I can finish a story – good news for those who wonder if my other story will ever end. And 2. I can start something new – I've got a modern AU in the works with horses, romance, bromance, femships, summer, and a hint of dramatic fairytale flair.**


	13. Chapter 13 - Return

**Family Heirloom**

"You should give this to Astrid, as your betrothal gift. You'll have to exchange gifts six moon cycles from the announcement you're set to make at Snoggletog."

Hiccup's hand turned the bronze pendant from cold to warm as he admire it in his cupped palm. The object enabled him to recognize the actuality of his commitments. He felt at ease about his future, air flowing freely in his lungs, his heart properly paced, and his body felt lighter. All those jagged rough worries had been smoothed down by the comforts of his home and the small reconciliations of the past.

"It's the same one I gave your mother years ago… At one time I thought it had been lost, but I found it in the ashes of old our house after a dragon raid." Stoick laughed at the memory, "You know I think Toothless was the one who burned down that house."

The black dragon must have understood, because he made his own warbling-laugh as he nodded his head and his jaw dropped open.

"You can keep it for now. I don't want to lose it," Hiccup said putting it back in the little chest then leaving it on the table.

"Last chance to come with us," He added as he adjusted the straps on Toothless's saddle, he tightened them for longer rides, cinching the leather buckles up a notch.

"My place is here. Send my regards to everyone." Stoick gave his son one last bone crushing hug, pushing the air from his lungs and causing his spine to crack.

"Need to live to take…over…someday…"

"Ah, don't be so sensitive," Stoick's pat on his son's back felt like more of a battle hit. Hiccup wondered why the two people who loved him most also seemed to love to hurt him the most. And why he kept coming back for more.

 **000**

 **Return to the Edge**

Hiccup walked into the clubhouse to find the twins playing cat's cradle at the table.

"Hiccup, we though you never returning, what with your dad killing you and all," Tuffnut announced.

"Or you're getting married, changing your identity, and starting over." Ruffnut added.

Hiccup slapped his forehead with his palm, "Why would you have thought any of that? Are the stables clean?"

Astrid sat in the corner sharpening her ax, "They cleaned the stables. And I made them clean their hut. And Snotlout helped, and Fishlegs organized all the weapons. I've been keeping them busy."

"She's been working us like slaves, Hiccup" Tuffnut gestured to his outfit, "she even made us wash our clothes – our clothes!"

One could practically hear the eye roles from the non-twins in the room.

Hiccup chided him, "You can't decide to give up on all manner of decency because I'm away."

"I don't think its decent manners to call people out on their flaws, Hiccup. If one even considered dirty clothes a flaw." Tuffnutt said eyes focused on the "x"'s of their string.

Hiccup and Astrid exchanged smiles. "Can I talk to you?" He motioned her outside.

She rose to follow him out. The other guys in the room smirked and nodded their heads.

Astrid glared at them.

Hiccup put his arm over her shoulder as they walked over to his hut.

"What was with that look? – From the guys."

"You mean the 'man nods'?"

"Man nods?"

"You know when guys are thinking the same thing or acknowledge each other – Tuff and Snotlout practically have whiplash from exchanging them all the time."

Astrid laughed, "OK, first, if those two are exchanging them, you should call them 'boy nods'. Second, when do they ever do that?"

Hiccup laughed back, "All the time! Especially since you and I got together. They usually exchange them after their 'like Hiccup' comments."

"'Like Hiccup' comments? What are you talking about?" After the unnecessary stress of the past few days it felt good to laugh so hard and to be together again.

"Remember when you tore your leggings?"

"Yes."

"You walked in during lunch and said 'dang, this tear is creeping all the way up my thigh.' And Snotlout said, 'like Hiccup'. Then he and Tuff totally exchanged 'boy nods'."

Astrid laughed, "I didn't even hear him say that."

"Are you not paying attention? They say things like that all the time now."

"When?"

"Remember when you got a new saddle – about a month ago? We were all out scouting and you said 'I think this saddle is going to need some adjustments, it's chaffing my rear'. And of course Tuffnut said –"

"'Like Hiccup'?"

He laughed and nodded.

"How did I miss that?"

He shrugged, "And how did you miss their epic 'boy nod'? They nodded so hard they practically fell off their dragons. They were so proud of themselves. Knowing you've not noticed will crush them."

"Oh, I'm sure," she shook her head facetiously.

"Also, that one Terrible Terror that keeps coming in and stealing food, each time you call him a 'bad boy' and say he'll be 'in trouble'. They guys always add 'like Hiccup' and exchange the nod then."

"Wow, I'm always yelling at the little guy. I can't believe this has been going on."

Hiccup laughed, "You've just gotten used to ignoring their antics."

He reached for her hand then started to kiss her. She started to move closer, melting into him, but then he stopped, pulling his lips away and letting her head fall to his shoulder.

"I missed you. I thought about you and us most of the time." She felt the words reverberate in his chest as he spoke.

"How could you not? You visited the place where we grew up together. And fell in love."

"Not to mention all the quality time I spent with your parents."

"How was that?"

"They're nice. Your dad and I bonded and your mom was good to me. Said I am the son they always wanted."

"Yeah, I think when you were little my mom would have kidnapped you if she could. Partially, why I was always jealous of you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, that's why I was rough on you during dragon training. You know, the boy my parents always wanted, surpassing me to be the star pupil."

"Wow, hidden jealousy coming out."

Astrid pulled back to meet his eyes, "Hidden! I never kept that to myself. Astrid Hofferson hides nothing."

"Well, except for-"

"Don't you make a list of things that contradicts my statement," she warned jokingly. "Besides, I own that star pupil now. Not a loss if you win him over."

He wrapped his arms tighter around her. "Probably true."

She kissed him hard, pressing into him and pinning him to the wall. The kiss was possessive and deep reminding him he belonged to her forever and always, even before they knew the gods had written it into fate.

"I wuv you," he mumbled between the ebbs of their passionate movements.

He finally pulled back, "Listen, I told my dad we'd go see Mala and clear up this whole crazy proposal thing. We'll take a ride and on the way I'll fill you in on the details of my adventures in Berk."

The two riders packed up, leaving Fishlegs in charge and making sure flammable objects were hidden.

 **000**

 **A/N: Thanks to all who fav, followed, and reviewed. Sorry for the long wait and I apologize that I didn't finish the story in this chapter, I've been uber busy and I can't seem to get then next part exactly how I want it. But that one should be the last one.**


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